Mexico will be the largest importer of yellow corn due to the drought and AMLO’s policies

A perfect storm will make Mexico the largest importer of yellow corn by the end of 2024. And that storm is driven by the drought and the agricultural policies of the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, such as the ban on glyphosate (or vitamins to increase the grain and food production).

“In this six-year term the only thing that has been happening is that we are increasingly dependent on imports from other countries, mainly the United States, Argentina and Brazil,” he declares. Luis Fernando Haro, director of the National Agricultural Council (CNA).

The reality is that there will be lower production of white and yellow corn due to climate issues in 2024, says Juan Cortina Gallardo, president of the CNA.

In Sinaloa, the water dams are at 20 percent of their capacity, which will not be enough to irrigate thousands and thousands of hectares of corn, says the sugar product.

Sinaloa is the main corn producing center in Mexico, so “there will be an impact on grain production,” comments the businessman.

Due to the lack of water, credit and glyphosate, Sinaloa will have a drop in production of 3 million 500 thousand tons of corn in 2024, compared to what was harvested in 2023, says the director of the CNA.

“This will make us the first importing country of (yellow) corn in the world, surpassing China and it is estimated that for this year (it will be purchased abroad) between 21 million tons and 22 million tons,” he says. Luis Fernando.

Mexico purchased more than 5,872 million dollars of corn in the United States, Brazil and Argentina, according to the Bank of Mexico.

At the end of 2023, meat producers and the Mexican industry made purchases of yellow corn abroad, despite the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador issuing a couple of decrees to stop the consumption of the grain in Mexico.

According to figures from the Agri-Food and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP), corn production went from 26 million 553 thousand 239 tons in 2022, to 24 million 931 thousand 494 tons of that cereal last year, which meant a loss of 1 million 621 thousand 745 tons.

On February 5, 2024, the President of the Republic, Andrés Manuel López Obrador presented 18 constitutional and two legal reforms, which were delivered by Luisa María Alcalde, Secretary of the Interior (Segob), to the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcela Guerra Castillo.

In April 2020, the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador published the Federal Law for the Promotion and Protection of Native Corn, which in its articles 3 and 4, legally recognizes the production, marketing, consumption and traditional constant diversification of corn as a manifestation national culture and as a guarantee of the human right to nutritious, sufficient and quality food.

Among the 20 reforms presented by the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, there is one where he proposes to prohibit the planting and human consumption of transgenic (or yellow) corn, a government decision that opened a trade dispute with the United States and to date has not been resolved. been settled between the parties. In that document, there is also talk of stopping the consumption of glyphosate.

Víctor Villalobos Arámbula, Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development (Sader), says that in 2023 a decrease was observed in the central-northern regions – places where corn is traditionally planted – this is offset by the increase reported in the southern states. southeast.

This increase in corn production in the south-southeast region was influenced by the implementation of the Fertilizers for Well-being program, with the free and direct delivery of inputs for basic crops, points out Víctor Villalobos.

Additionally, he said, the Sembrando Vida program has contributed approximately 600 thousand more tons of corn, an essential food in the diet of Mexican families.

The head of the Ministry of Agriculture comments that Mexico will continue to be self-sufficient in the production of white corn for human consumption, so supply is guaranteed.

He adds that our country will maintain the importation of yellow corn for livestock and industrial activity, since there is a deficit in its production because the planting of white corn has been privileged for years.

Luis Fernando Haro affirms that Mexico has not achieved food self-sufficiency in various grains and foods, including corn, despite the fact that the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador promised that there would be a lack of food.

Much of the imported corn is yellow, which is used to feed birds, cattle and pigs, as well as sweeteners or raw materials for the soft drink and food industries.

The demand for white corn is covered by current production, despite the fact that imports of transgenic food were prohibited so that they are not used in the production of dough and tortillas, concludes the general director of the CNA.