By Jennifer Dorsett
Field Editor

Texas’ biggest trading partner, Mexico, is set to phase out genetically modified corn for human consumption by the beginning of 2024.

That’s according to a draft decree released Dec. 9 by Mexico’s National Commission for Regulatory Improvement. Under the proposal, the Mexican government would revoke existing and future permits for the cultivation of genetically modified corn and the use of GMO corn in human consumption phased out no later than Jan. 31, 2024.

This would also mandate the phase-out of GMO corn imports into the country by 2024, a move that has both domestic and foreign stakeholders concerned.

“The lack of access to production options puts us at a disadvantage compared to our competitors, such as corn farmers in the United States,” Laura Tamayo, a spokeswoman for Mexico’s National Farm Council, told Reuters. “On the other hand, the import of genetically modified grain from the U.S. is essential for many products in the agri-food chain.”

Currently, there is no GMO corn grown in Mexico.

For the 2018/2019 crop marketing year, Mexico was the largest importer of U.S.-grown corn, according to the U.S. Grains Council. A report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Ag Service (FAS) shows the U.S. exported $2.7 billion worth of corn to Mexico in 2019, mostly for livestock feed.

Texas corn farmers exported $226 million in corn in 2017, the latest year for which data was available, according to USDA’s Economic Research Service.

A report published by the Center for North American Studies at Texas A&M University the same year showed corn was the fourth-largest agricultural export to Mexico from Texas, valued at $62.4 million.

While Mexico grows most of its own white corn for tortillas, FAS noted imported corn from the U.S. is used in the food processing sector to make cereals, starches and other processed products. It is not clear if the proposed decree would phase out imported GMO corn for livestock use or only corn for human consumption.

In addition to GMO corn cultivation, the decree proposes to phase out of the use of glyphosate by 2024, adding glyphosate will not be used in any government-sponsored program during the transition period.

FAS has an unofficial transcription of the draft decree available here.