Mexico Remains Loyal US Corn Buyer, Despite Dispute

Despite the ongoing dispute between Mexico and the U.S. over Mexico’s banning of GM corn imports, Mexico has remained a loyal buyer, hitting record volumes of U.S. corn for shipment this year. 

As of January 18, a record 15.3 million metric tons of U.S. corn were on the books for shipment to Mexico in 2023-2024 – a 20 percent increase over the previous high set on that date two years ago.

The U.S. saw record corn production in 2023, leading to an easing of prices and higher export demand compared to the previous year. However, the USDA’s full-year export forecast for 2023-2024 ending August 31 is “middle of the road” at 53.3 million tons. 

Even so, corn export sales as of January 18 have accounted for 61 percent of this total, with Mexico accounting for 47 percent of total sales, followed by Japan being second at 14 percent. 

This 47 percent for Mexico is well above recent averages for the date, and approaches the record 48 percent at this time last year, showing that Mexico’s pace is within historic bounds. 

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