Lower feed demand cuts Mexico’s 2020 corn import outlook: GCMA

Lower than expected feed demand is likely to reduce Mexico's corn imports in 2020, with local consultancy firm Grupo...

Lower than expected feed demand is likely to reduce Mexico’s corn imports in 2020, with local consultancy firm Grupo Consultor de Mercados Agricolas (GCMA) revising their outlook from 17.2 million mt to 16.75 million mt. 

“The decline in corn imports in 2020 is mainly due to a lower demand for animal feeding, which represents nearly 50% of total yellow corn consumption in Mexico,” Abel Rodriguez Montejo, an analyst with GCMA, has told Agricensus.

“Due to Covid-19, the sector grew at lower rates than initially expected. We have been seeing slower demand for corn by beef and pork producers,” the analyst said. 

Rodriguez Montejo also said that 93% of total corn imports this year will be originated in the US, with Brazil accounting for the remaining 7%.

In 2019, Mexico had imported a total of 16.24 million mt of corn, according to GCMA figures.

Mexico is one of the world’s biggest importers of corn with the bulk of its imports typically sourced from the US.

Mexico has imported a total of 12.23 million mt of corn in the first nine months of 2020, an increase of 3.6% compared with the same period of 2019 when the country had imported 11.80 million mt, the latest available figures from GCMA showed.  

Imports of US yellow corn amounted to 10.79 million mt in the period, climbing 5.3% year-on-year, while imports of Brazilian yellow corn reached 809,900 mt in the January-September period, down 5.6% versus the same period of 2019, GCMA said.

What to read next
Fastmarkets’ pricing database has been updated to reflect the following changes: AG-SYB-0037 Soymeal CIF US Gulf Barge Hipro $/mtIncorrect prices:M1: $331.75 per tonneM2 $334.25 per tonneM3 $334.25 per tonneCorrected to:M1: $329.50 per tonneM2: $332.50 per tonneM3: $332.50 per tonne AG-SYB-0039 Soymeal FOB US Gulf Hipro $/mtIncorrect prices:M1: $334 per tonneM2 $337.75 per tonneM3 $337.75 per tonneCorrected to:M1: $331.75 per […]
Most Ukraine-based trade sources estimate the country’s crop output for the 2025/26 marketing year to be up from the previous year, with a significant increase expected for corn, while barley and wheat crops are forecast to be largely unchanged from 2024/25, Fastmarkets heard.
Ukraine's grain export volumes rose to 669,000 tonnes during the week to Sunday April 13, a 60% increase compared with the previous week, according to data released by the State Customs Service on Monday
On Tuesday, April 8, the USDA confirmed a sale of 240,000 tonnes of US corn into Spain for delivery in the 2024-25 marketing year. This left market participants puzzled as they did not expect this sort of trade, given the looming tariff on US corn exported into the EU that will be implemented from next […]
China has announced additional tariffs of up to 15% on imports of US goods from March 10, with the new measures covering largely agricultural products, alongside restricted exports to 15 US companies, according to a notice posted by the country’s Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday, March 4. Imports of agricultural goods […]
The European Union’s weekly wheat exports amounted to 243,324 tonnes in the week to Sunday, February 16, according to initial data from the European Commission. Total wheat exports from the EU for the 2024/25 marketing year stood at 13.34 million tonnes, down by 36% compared with the same period in the previous marketing year, when […]