The National Agricultural Council (CNA) reported that the drop in grain prices and the appreciation of the peso have reduced the income of thousands of producers, who mobilized in 17 entities to express the difficulties they are experiencing in the face of an adverse global environment.
During the current agricultural cycle, producers of corn, wheat, sorghum and other grains have faced a combination of critical factors that have compromised the profitability and sustainability of their productive activity, said the organization directed by Jorge Esteve Recolons.
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He reported that agricultural producers from 17 entities, led by the National Front for the Rescue of the Mexican Countryside, held a national day of mobilization to demand immediate action from the federal government to stop the collapse of the countryside, affected by high production costs, low marketing prices and unfair competition derived from the USMCA.
The national leader of the Front, Yako Rodríguez, explained that the mobilizations were mainly concentrated in the northern states, although entities from the center of the country such as Querétaro, Guanajuato, Michoacán and Morelos also participated, where producers face: indebtedness, lack of credit, disappearance of the Financiera Rural and prices that do not even cover the basic costs of planting.
“Today, all producers are poorer, more affected, and with less technical capacity to produce. In Mexico it costs 15 thousand pesos to produce a ton of beans, while grains imported from the United States and Canada enter the country at 12 pesos per kilo. The same happens with corn: planting 10 hectares costs 58 thousand pesos, but the harvests barely reach between 30 and 38 thousand pesos. We are producing at a loss,” he warned.
Yako Rodríguez denounced that this crisis is the result of an unfair trade policy that allows agricultural dumping under the protection of the Mexico-United States-Canada Treaty (USMCA), which destroys the national market by allowing the entry of subsidized grains from abroad.
“Big businessmen say that in the United States it is cheaper to produce, but what they are bringing is junk corn. There is no point of comparison with Mexican corn in quality or flavor. Our production cannot compete with products subsidized by other governments,” he pointed out.
According to the CNA, the fall in international prices, together with an exchange rate that has made the peso less competitive, has significantly reduced the income of national producers.
Another factor that affects producers is the high production costs, driven by the increase in the cost of inputs, energy and transportation.
“There is unequal competition against subsidized markets, such as the United States, which affects the competitiveness of the producer in Mexico,” said the CNA.
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Agricultural producers have also been hit by severe droughts, which have reduced the planted area and yields in the field, he noted.
The council reaffirmed its commitment to the prosperity of farmers and reaffirmed the urgent need for modern and effective risk management instruments that provide certainty to production, agribusiness, financial intermediaries and the consumer.
“Ensuring stability in the production and supply of grains is essential for food security and for maintaining fair and sustainable international trade,” he said.
He asked agricultural producers to continue with an open and permanent dialogue with the government, as well as with producer organizations, in order to build agreements that strengthen competitiveness, promote commercial integration and the dignification of the countryside.
