Mexico’s Corn Imports Surge Despite Self-Sufficiency Goals
The Mexican government’s aim for self-sufficiency in corn has faced challenges as imports from the U.S. continue to rise, reaching potentially record-breaking levels by the end of the year. Despite earlier calls for self-sufficiency, the increased demand for corn as livestock feed has driven imports to peak in 2018 and remain high. Over 90 percent of Mexico’s corn imports come from the U.S., predominantly genetically-modified yellow corn.
Global corn trade has seen an increase, with larger exports from Argentina and the United States compensating for reductions from Brazil, Russia, and Serbia. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that both exports and imports of corn are up, with Canada and Mexico notably increasing their imports.
In late 2020, the Mexican government announced plans to phase out genetically-modified corn for human consumption by 2024. However, earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack stated that imports of genetically-modified corn for animal feed are not covered by this decree, indicating a continuation of such imports from the U.S. into Mexico.
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