The network of cattle mobilized in Mexico for slaughter 2017-2021

Abstract

Social-network analysis (SNA) offers an alternative way to study the market of cattle destined for slaughter, making it possible to come up with measurements for the purpose of analyzing both the sources and destinations of the said animals. The research described here set out to determine the networkstructure of Mexico’s internal market of cattle mobilized for slaughter between 2017 and 2021. The structure of that market was analyzed using spatial-localization, economic-specialization, and network-density and specialization measurements. An average of 4.7 million cattle were mobilized each year in Mexico for slaughter, with 302 mobilization permits being applied for every day, each for an average of 42.7 heads of cattle. Relative market specialization was low, being higher for demand, but no different from that for supply (P>0.05). The market was characterizedby intrastate trade, low network density, low input centrality, low output centrality and high levels of municipal market specialization. Hence, the national cattle-for-slaughter market has low specialization, high diversification and homophily.