U.S. corn market strengthening on a “stream of positive news” was reported last week in the USGC weekly newsletter, Market Perspectives. No wonder; the newsletter reported that “the week started off with the daily export sales announcement of 1.66 million metric tons (MMT) of corn sold to Mexico – the third largest sale to Mexico in recorded history” and the 11th largest daily corn export sale.
From what I could gather, according to the FAS data, in the other two record sales, Mexico bought 1.87 MMT of corn on November 16, 2022 (5th in total ranking) and 1.84 MMT on December 8, 2021 (7th in the total ranking). Since 1977, the other large importers have been China and the extinct USSR.
So here we are. Mexico is in the top of the top corn importers, right when the country is in the middle of a heavy corn trade dispute caused by the supposedly harmful GMO corn and the upcoming policies.
Some analysts think this is especially encouraging, considering the trade dispute. Yes, it is because that means that Mexico wants and needs U.S. corn. As I have stated in other blogs, there is neither enough corn, nor sorghum or any other grain, to fulfill the needs of a hungry country with more than 130 million people. The industry needs corn, even if the government talks nonsense.
It is also said that the industry might be worried for not being able “to get the supplies they [Mexicans] need to be able to make their commitment so they're aggressively buying corn out of the U.S.”
What is troublesome for me is the fact that Mexican policy makers still do not realize what the needs of the country are, what is the status of the country in terms of grain production, how privileged Mexico is to be able to bring cereal grains by railroad in a matter of nothing, that GMO corn is harmless, and how endangered food security could be if GMO corn is not allowed in the country.
Meanwhile, while Mexico registers record-high amounts of corn imports, nothing, nothing I repeat, is done to solve the problem on the government side.
What do you think?
