Key Issues and Relevance
The Mexican market for grains and oilseeds continues to erode the country’s food self-sufficiency, producing only 44.1% of what it consumes. This makes Mexico the second-largest global importer of grains and oilseeds, as well as the primary global buyer of white and yellow corn.
Analysis by Grupo Consultor de Mercados Agrícolas (GCMA)
Despite an 11.1% increase in total harvested area, national production only rose by 2.0%, indicating a decline in productivity mainly due to climatic factors.
The situation worsens with a 3% increase in import volume and a near 78% drop in exports, reducing the self-sufficiency index from previously recorded 46.8%.
Product-by-Product Performance
- Corn: Production fell 3.9% annually, despite an increase in harvested area, raising external dependence through 24.5 million tonnes of imports.
- Wheat: A historical 34% productivity collapse due to drought, leaving self-sufficiency at only 23%.
- Sorghum: Autosufficiency dropped to 81.5% due to increased external purchases driven by low international prices.
- Beans: An atypical positive case with an 18.8% production growth, allowing self-sufficiency to recover at 86%.
- Rice: Although production improved, critical self-sufficiency remains at 20.3%, affected by an 18% drop in national prices impacting sector profitability.
Policy Implications and Challenges
Grupo Consultor de Mercados Agrícolas (GCMA) warns that the sector remains a weak link in food security due to public policies focusing on small producers, who make up 84% of units but generate only 26% of volume.
This strategy excludes 16% of producers supplying 74% of the market, currently facing high costs, lack of financing, and absence of insurance. “Without an integral policy to boost all sectors’ productivity, Mexico will continue deepening its external dependence,” the report concludes.
