Record imports of corn are expected, despite the fact that its price rose 33% in the year

Angelica Enciso L.

Newspaper La Jornada
Tuesday, May 24, 2022, p. 13

This year a new record for yellow corn imports is expected with 17.7 million tons (200 thousand more than in 2021), while international prices have reported an increase of 33 percent since January, the Agrifood Information Service and Pesquera (SIAP) and the Agricultural Markets Consulting Group (GCMA).

Since February 24, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine occurred, grain has risen more than $46 per ton, up 18 percent, to $306.6, but considering the rise since the second week of January prices have risen about 33 percent, more than $75, the GCMA said.

The SIAP considered that corn imports from Mexico are projected with this new record, coming mostly from the United States, due to the growing demand for food from the poultry sector, which has been the main buyer of yellow grain in the past. last years.

He explained that only for the autumn-winter 2022 cycle, the planting intentions were for 97 thousand hectares, but the actual plantings, as of March 2022, they have fallen short, since they total just 62 thousand 465 hectares, so that the production estimates are for 340 thousand tons.

Low local production

He recalled that the harvests of the autumn winter 2021 cycle (from November 2020 to March 2021) were 55 thousand 389 hectares, with a volume of 311 thousand 733 tons, a drop of 31.5 percent, explained by lower plantings, as well as by weather disasters, especially in Tamaulipas. Due to this, the harvest was the lowest in the last four years and represents only 39 percent of the 799 thousand 232 tons of 2018.

The SIAP estimated, for the October 2021/September 2022 market close, a production volume of 3.2 million tons, 13 percent higher than the previous cycle, which turned out to be the poorest volume since the 2014/15 cycle.

In the case of white corn, which is for human consumption, he indicated that the preliminary closure of the spring-summer cycle, with advances in sowing and harvesting to March 2022, registers 16.7 million tons harvested, just 0.8 percent above the 16.7 million that were collected in the same cycle of the previous year.

He added that last April the available inventory is 4.4 million tons, more than enough to cover the national supply, while the most relevant autumn-winter harvests are obtained, during May, June and July.