Mexico Grains, Cereal & Legumes insights

Overall grain consumption is expected to rise for Mexico in marketing year 2025-26 in line with the country’s population growth, and as the production of calves, pigs and poultry increases, according to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture. Mexico’s corn production for 2025-26 is forecast by the

Mexico’s lower house has enacted a constitutional ban on genetically modified (GM) corn planting. This decision reinforces earlier restrictions, despite a prior ruling that deemed Mexico’s GM corn limitations scientifically unsubstantiated. The reform strengthens protections for native corn and traditional agriculture, aiming to uphold biosafety and safeguard the nation’s biocultural heritage, according to a press release.

The ban was proposed by President Sheinbaum in January 2025 when he submitted a constitutional reform bill to the Mexican Congress, proposing to add a clause in the Constitution that "the state should promote the seed and planting of non-GMO corn". After legislative deliberation, the lower house of Congress approved the bill on February 27. The ban aims to protect the genetic diversity of Mexico's native corn and avoid the potential impact of genetically modified crops on traditional agriculture and the ecological environment. Unlike the ban on the import of genetically modified corn issued in 2023, this constitutional amendment does not involve import restrictions. The current constitutional amendment focuses on domestic planting, and the import policy has been adjusted to allow genetically modified corn for feed and industrial purposes, but prohibits it from being used in food production. Mexico has long been cautious about genetically modified crops. This constitutional amendment further strengthens the local agricultural protection policy and reflects the importance of biosafety and food sovereignty. Mexico once caused a trade dispute between the United States and Mexico due to the 2023 genetically modified corn import ban (restricting edible use), and abolished the relevant provisions on February 5, 2025 to comply with the USMCA ruling. However, this ban has not yet caused a direct trade dispute because it does not restrict imports.