AGUASCALIENTES, Aguascalientes.- Seth Meyer, chief economist of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), said that Mexico is on track to be the largest importer of corn, sorghum, soybeans, wheat and rice produced in the United States.
He declared that the country is among the best trading partners of the United States and has been that way for many years.
“Actually this is done so that Mexico becomes number one, we know that Mexico is one of the main exporters for this type of market,” he said during the 21st edition of the Global Agri-Food Forum Innovating for Food Security.
“For every dollar we send, you send two dollars and I think this is a very good relationship,” he added.
He added that the United States has a trade deficit in agriculture, but there is a visceral and emotional reaction, when “we have different benefits and we do not have products that compete with each other.”
China is the largest importer of grains grown in the United States, followed by Mexico and Canada in third position, he indicated.
He expressed that in the last two years there have been the highest trade volumes, because if any of the partners do not have a product or have problems in their production, one of the partners will help their production reach the levels.
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He said that the Mexican market has had a terrible drought in 2023, which affected both agricultural production seasons.
“For this year, corn production had a little more favorable rain, so we wait to see how the weather conditions continue,” he said.
The economist recalled that raw material prices have fallen rapidly, but input prices not so much.
“The margins of US crop producers are under pressure, something that is unknown how long it will last due to the war between Russia and Ukraine and the war conflict in the Red Sea,” he explained.
He added that crops face different market uncertainties, war, competition, demand and biofuels.
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“Livestock markets see better prices, but they face other limitations due to the weather,” he recalled.
He noted that United States agricultural trade is expanding in both exports and imports.
He affirmed that trade between the United States and Mexico is important and that it is rapidly expanding.
China buys about 30 billion dollars of grains, while Mexico acquires about 29 billion dollars and on one step is Canada, with 28 billion dollars.
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