What is expected for sugar?
According to data from the Bank of Mexico, from January to May 2024, sugar imports totaled 358.8 million dollars, an increase of 825% compared to the same period in 2023 (38.7 million).
The figure for the first five months of 2024 is set to exceed the total sugar imports recorded by Mexico in all of 2023, which amounted to $447.9 million.
The National Committee for the Sustainable Development of Sugar Cane (Conadesuca) has projected a production of 4.7 tons of sugar for this year, the lowest figure in a decade.
The National Agricultural Council (CNA) has warned that the most intense droughts are affecting many crops, including sugar cane, but will spread to others.
And the cocoa?
This problem is also affecting cocoa crops. Producers in the three main producing states: Tabasco, Guerrero and Chiapas have indicated that in some cases production has been reduced by around 50%.
Banxico figures indicate that cocoa bean imports in the first five months of the year reached 98.6 million dollars, 145% more than in the same period in 2023 (40.3 million).
With the effects of climate change, this ingredient used to make chocolate has become scarce and its price has skyrocketed. The price of cocoa on the United States futures market has reached more than $10,000 this year.
Rice imports grow 34%
Rice farmers have also seen significant restrictions on water use, and rice farmers in Morelos have planned to cultivate fewer hectares this year.
Rice is one of the cereals whose imports have increased. From January to May of this year, the value of Mexico’s purchases abroad reached 277.5 million dollars, 34% higher than the 206.6 million in the same period in 2023.
Apple crops affected by drought
This drought situation is not foreign to fruit producers, such as apple growers, who have also raised their voices against the difficult situation they face.
In Coahuila, producers have said that the drought has put the apple industry in jeopardy, allowing them to grow only 30% of what they could before.
Banxico data indicate that in the case of apples, pears and quinces, imports in the aforementioned period amounted to 261.6 million dollars, an increase of 32%.
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