Producers and farmers recognized the agreement they reached with the Sheinbaum Government to set a guarantee price of 6,950 pesos (328 dollars) per ton for producers with up to 20 hectares and a maximum of 200 tons.
Álvaro López Ríos, secretary of the National Union of Agricultural Workers (UNTA), asserted that the understanding will allow the beginning of the lifting of road blockades and takeovers of toll booths maintained by farmers in several states of the country, in protest against the fall in grain prices.
“Since early morning, the blockades in Michoacán and Jalisco were lifted. Only the blockade remains in Guanajuato, since the people still have the right to demand what they demanded,” López Ríos explained in a statement.
The leader specified that the agreement contemplates a mixed support scheme: 6,050 pesos (328 dollars) per ton provided by the federal government and an additional 900 pesos (48.85 dollars) coming from the state governments that produce corn, which adds up to the new agreed guarantee price.
“This is an important achievement, not one hundred percent, but beyond the 6,050 pesos that Julio Berdegué (Secretary of Agriculture) offered initially. It does not reach the 7,200 that were demanded, but progress is being made for the benefit of the producers,” added the peasant leader.
Read more: Sheinbaum government confirms agreement with corn producers after days of blockades and protests
Farmers begin lifting road blockades
As part of the agreement, the creation of a market and trade regulation commission was also established, which will allow grain prices to be defined in advance through negotiations between the Government, the industry and producers, in order to reduce uncertainty and speculation.
The agreement puts an end to several days of protests in Bajío, where farmers from Jalisco, Michoacán and Guanajuato blocked roads and booths to demand a fair price that would cover their production costs, affected by the 20% drop in the international price of corn so far this year.
Furthermore, it occurs after a series of mobilizations by corn producers and farmers in the country, who on Monday and Tuesday blocked roads in several states to demand that the Government set the minimum price of corn at 7,200 pesos (about $391).
On Monday, authorities offered to set that price at 6,050 pesos (about $328), however, farmers and producers rejected it and described it as a “mockery” and “insult to the Mexican countryside.”
With information from EFE
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