[Editor’s note: More than 90% of the US corn market is GMO — a combination of herbicide-tolerant and insect-resistant varieties.]
Mexico’s attempts to diversify its supplies of corn could threaten a crucial market for U.S. farmers who are increasingly dependent on exports to unload record stockpiles that are depressing prices.
Mexico buys nearly all its corn imports from the United States – shipments that totaled 13.603 million tonnes in the year ending Aug. 31, 2016. The sales account for about 28 percent of total U.S. corn exports….
But now Mexico wants to lessen that dependence as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to upend trade between the countries. On [Feb. 16, 2017], Mexico’s agriculture minister revealed plans to visit Argentina and Brazil to buy yellow corn.
Mexico tends to import grain from South America or countries other than the United States only when it is cheaper or supplies are tight.
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U.S. corn prices of around $190 per tonne are about $10 to $15 lower than South American grain delivered to Mexico, trade sources said.
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U.S. farmers are concerned that the new administration’s early maneuvering on trade threatens exports, which are a rare bright spot in an agricultural economy where farm income could fall to its lowest since 2002 in inflation-adjusted terms.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: U.S. corn farmers worry as Mexico woos South American suppliers
