Should Mexico avoid a corn fight with the United States?

Hence, US producers are particularly interested in continuing selling transgenic corn to Mexico.

The head of the Ministry of Economy, Raquel Buenrostro, said on December 7 that it has been a matter of “misinformation and interpretation of the decree” issued in 2020. The official explained that the decree does not prohibit the importation of GMOs, but rather it only refers to corn, “but it is not just any corn”.

“Mexico is self-sufficient for human consumption, and all the corn we import is for fodder or industrial use, but it has transition conditions,” he said.

Said transition period would end in 2024, but the government extended the period for another year, that is, until 2025. He added that everything used for consumption, for example, fructose, will be gradually removed from the market.

In 2020 and 2021, more than 90% of the corn purchases that Mexico makes abroad are from the United States.

Last year Mexico imported 95.5% (16,662.3 million tons) of yellow corn from the United States, only 4.2% (730,484 tons) from Brazil and 0.4% (62,995 tons) from Argentina.

“We had a meeting with North American businessmen and what we told them is: all business is a matter of supply and demand; we do not have the capacity in the short term to be self-sufficient, but we do want food security. You can produce what Mexico needs, and they agreed,” said Buenrostro.

“Let’s sit down and talk to see how we move towards what Mexico needs and seeks as a public policy, which at the end of the day is: healthier people,” he added.