At the 28th Association of Mariana Islands’ Mayors, Vice Mayors and Elected Municipal Council Members General Assembly, the idea of possibly exchanging and selling imported meat from the neighboring island of Tinian noting it will benefit the island financially.

Dededo mayor Melissa Savares brought up her concerns about the possibility of importing and exchanging fresh meat from CNMI to Guam with presenter Customs and Quarantine Director Ike Peredo during the general assembly.

Savares said, “They have fresh as you know, cattle and the other livestock that they have the import of since they're doing these things, processing it at the slaughterhouse, would that go through? And then if they want to package it, and send it to Guam for sale here? Would that go through you guys or agriculture?”

Savares told KUAM that she brought it up because the island doesn’t have its own slaughterhouse, so Guam can greatly benefit by working with Tinian as they have their own.

“Compared to something that’s chopped up in a butcher facility, far far away, in other countries, or even in the states and then it's coming to us, frozen. For us to get it from a slaughterhouse within a few miles away, is a lot fresher. So that was my question is to the port or even to, to the customs and quarantine is can we get it bring products, not just for consent, personal consumption, but also for economic rewards for sale here on Guam,” She said.

During the Wednesday assembly, Peredo told Savares that import permits of the meats would probably be routed to the Department of Agriculture while customs will regulate the movements and make sure that the requirements are sent with respect to the importation and regulations on the slaughterhouse.

As KUAM reported, the plan of Guam having its own slaughterhouse was to "jump-start" local ranching and meat-packing industries as well as ensure food security for the island.

In Aug. 2022 , lawmakers approved an amendment to the budget bill to appropriate $600,000 in seed money for either a mobile or permanent facility.

In Dec. of that same year, former Congressman Michael San Nicolas said $1.4 million will go to the Guam livestock co-op for the construction of the facility.

Since then no new updates have been made on the construction of the slaughterhouse.

Although Savares is not part of the organization, she says that livestock farmers on Guam are ready to have one built.

She continued, “It's a lot of agricultural red tape, I believe is what we call it. And the farmers are ready. The livestock farmers are ready to go. There's a group of them that continue to go to the Legislature, Department of Agriculture, and USDA to try to get these permits in place.”

KUAM has reached out to the Department of Agriculture for comment.