▲ Sugar producers’ income fell 30 percent in one year.Photo file
Jared Laureles
La Jornada Newspaper
Saturday, February 7, 2026, p. 6
Given the review of the T-MEC this year, it is necessary for the United States to expand its import quota for Mexican sugar or apply a tariff to the volumes of high fructose from that country that exceed what is currently purchased, said Carlos Blackaller Ayala, president of the National Union of Sugar Cane Growers of the National Confederation of Rural Owners.
He pointed out that the export of sugar from Mexico to the United States fell 76 percent in five years, since, prior to the entry into force of the T-MEC in July 2020, 800 thousand surplus tons could be exported, but this year 188 thousand tons will be placed.
Meanwhile, the shipment of high fructose from the United States increased exponentially, growing from “zero” in the 90s to 1.2 million tons that are estimated to enter our country in 2026, he indicated.
In an interview, he proposed that in the review of the trade agreement a “mirror relationship” be reestablished, which would consist of applying tariff measures or authorizing a greater quota of Mexican sugar, when high fructose imports exceed 900 thousand tons, which is the average volume of the last 10 years.
Blackaller explained that this problem occurs because while the import of fructose continues to be regulated by NAFTA, Suspension Agreements were imposed on the Mexican product, which began in December 2014 and restrict the volume that can be exported.
This pact avoids the imposition of compensatory duties on Mexican sugar that were determined in the investigations. antidumping and on subsidies against product imports.
“The balance is broken with the United States strategy of imposing suspension agreements and an imbalance is created where high fructose wins and sugar from Mexico has lost.”
In addition, there are restrictions because at least 70 percent of the sugar must be raw and is delivered to refineries in the United States to give it added value. The remaining 30 percent of sugar can be refined or standard.
The sugarcane leader specified that the application of the new 156 percent tariff on sugar imports, the price per ton is around 20 thousand pesos, which is the price established four years ago and “gives a break” to the sale of the product in the national market.
This problem, he commented, was presented last November to Julio Berdegué, Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, as well as to the Ministry of Economy, within the framework of the analysis of the decree to increase the tariff.
Another of the main concerns is that the sugar industry, on which at least 185 thousand sugarcane farmers depend, suffers from low prices and low profitability, in addition to macroeconomic factors such as the exchange rate.
Just between the 2024 and 2025 cycle, producers’ income fell 30 percent, since labor, fuel and fertilizers practically represent 80 percent of production costs. We were a country that produced 5.5 million tons of sugar, currently, after the impact of the drought, production fell below that volume in the last harvest cycles, he noted.
