This is more than double the accumulated general inflation in the same period, of 22.20%, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi). Generally, tortilla producers and merchants announce increases in the kilo of the tortilla when the New Year begins. And that’s why people wonder if there will be a new increase with the start of 2023.
Expansión consulted Blanca Mejía, president of the Governing Council of the Traditional Mexican Tortilla, who stated that they have not considered an increase in the price of the tortilla in January. But she acknowledged that there are pressures for this to happen around March.
In addition to the consequences of the high prices of flour at the international level, as a consequence of the war between Ukraine and Russia, Blanca Mejía indicated that some actors within the industry are “annoyed by the gradual ban on glyphosate and the importation of transgenic corn “. For this reason, she accused “they will continue with the speculation of the grain price as a measure of pressure.”
The government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador ordered the prohibition of glyphosate -a broad-spectrum herbicide- since 2020, due to its probable effects on health and the environment. However, in recent months, both Mexican businessmen and the Business Coordinating Council, as well as representatives of the United States government have pressed to reverse this situation . And also reverse the project to ban transgenic corn in Mexico by 2024.
Some US producers warn that if Mexico perseveres with the ban on GMOs, in the future, would have to pay a 20% premium over the current price for US farmers to choose to grow organic corn . In other words, the ban would push up the prices of corn imports.
The president recently acknowledged that there is still no substitute for this herbicide, but he also stressed that the campaigns that predict that without glyphosate there will be a shortage of corn and food and, therefore, price increases, as pointed out by business chambers, are false. .
Meanwhile, the Tortilla Governing Council indicated that there were 400,000 tons of imported grain that gave the industrialist a breather, but that it will be in February when a possible increase in the price of tortillas is re-evaluated, depending on the prevailing circumstances. next year. This association brings together more than 60,000 tortilla producers nationwide and claims to advocate for food sovereignty and health, for which they are against the use of glyphosate.
