World Agrochemical Network Chinese: Mexico will not change its ban on U.S. imports of genetically modified corn or corn grown with glyphosate in any way, according to the country’s deputy agriculture minister. Yet an Indiana agriculture industry leader serving in Washington, D.C., doesn’t think Mexico will eventually pass the ban.
″I’m very hopeful that the regulations approved by the USMCA (U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement) will work, and this has to get straightened out,″ said Ted McKinney, CEO of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA). He served as undersecretary of agriculture for trade and foreign agricultural affairs during the Trump administration.
McKinney added that the U.S. has always respected Mexico’s long-standing model of corn production.
″It all started with the advent of biotechnology, and they say there is no intention of growing anything about genetic modification because Mexico itself is the origin of corn. But humans have been breeding plants and animals since the beginning of time. What’s interesting is that you find that agriculture is not driven by productivity and the will of the people, which it is, and we respect that. Now things are starting to change for the better″ McKinney said. But he added that many new corn hybrids in the U.S. have yet to be applied because of this problem.
″The concern is that certain genetic traits are now being suppressed and out of respect for the market they are not being put into new hybrids. We have to address this issue. ″
McKinney thinks Mexico has too much to lose if they end up approving this import ban.
″I think there will be increasing pressure from Mexico, not only from the U.S., but from Brazil, Argentina and many other countries, because this decision is not scientific and not well founded. They need our corn and soybean meal. They’re not going to buy it anywhere else and at close to U.S. prices, so the decree should be amended,″ McKinney said.
The impending ban, which stems from a decree issued by Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Dec. 31, 2020, could cost both countries billions of dollars in economic losses. However, Mexico said they plan to reach agreements with individual farmers in the U.S., Argentina and Brazil to circumvent bulk purchases of corn through the U.S.
The Mexican ban will take effect on Jan. 31, 2024.
Source: World Agrochemical Network
Post time: Nov-21-2022