The incoming Mexican administration will abandon a key objective of outgoing President Andres Manuel López Obrador: Reduce imports of yellow corn and achieve self-sufficiency in its production.
The new agriculture minister, Julio Berdegue, told Reuters that the focus will shift to maintaining self-sufficiency in white corn, primarily used for tortillas, while setting an “aspirational goal” to cut deforestation linked to agriculture by half within six years.
Berdegue noted that deforestation, largely driven by land clearing for avocado and livestock production, destroys around 200,000 hectares annually. Under López Obrador, Mexico aimed to significantly cut yellow corn imports, mostly sourced from the U.S., to boost local production and limit genetically modified corn. However, these imports remained steady at about $6 billion annually.
López Obrador’s administration had previously amended the GM corn ban to restrict it only for human consumption amid a trade dispute with the U.S., Mexico’s largest trading partner.
Back in March, the United States requested unsuccessful formal trade consultations. Then, Mexico’s minister of economy, Raquel Buenrostro, said that the country didn’t plan to change its decree to ban GM-corn.
“It’s already written … it’s already in the decree,” Buenrostro told Reuters, referring to allowing GM corn in animal feed, a key concern for U.S. and Mexican industrialists.
Berdegue indicated that President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration, taking office in October, will not pursue self-sufficiency in yellow corn, recognizing the necessity of continued imports to meet rising demand from the livestock sector.
A ruling on the GM corn policy dispute between the U.S. and Mexico under the USMCA trade agreement is expected by year’s end. The U.S. claims Mexico’s policy lacks scientific basis and breaches trade commitments, while Mexico maintains it does not affect the bilateral trade relationship.
Mexico buys about 17 million tonnes of GM yellow corn for animal feed from the United States — about $5 billion worth.
»Related: Study: Mexican ban on GM corn could be devastating