Mexican Perspective on GMO Corn Ban

The stakes are high for farmers on both sides of the border to solve the trade issue of whether U.S. genetically modified yellow corn will continue to be exported to Mexico. While Mexican government officials believe their country can work toward being more self-sufficient in replacing U.S. yellow corn with its own locally grown corn, the ag community is less confident and warns of the impact of losing access to U.S. feed. Mexico, in the current marketing year, was the top buyer of U.S. corn, with more than 5.5 million metric tons (mmt) shipped and outstanding sales of another 6.5 mmt. Mexico purchased 16.4 mmt for the market year that ended Sept. 1. This year Mexico expects to import 18 mmt. The big question being asked in the ag sector and by farmers is where the corn will be produced if the 18 mmt is banned from the U.S.: Mexico is currently not self-sufficient in growing yellow corn and, in fact, corn producers have been switching corn production to agave production, a crop used to make tequila. Questions have also been raised about whether food prices could rise because of the decree. Luis Fernando Haro Encinas, director general of Mexico’s National Agricultural Council, which represents 1.8 million producers, spoke at an International Federation of Agricultural Journalists meeting in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Feb. 27. He noted it is prohibited to grow genetically modified corn in Mexico.