political language this designed so that the lies seem true and to give the wind an appearance of solidity, said the journalist and novelist, Arthur Blairbetter known as George Orwell.
Following this strategy and with the objective of “simulate” that he Federal Government supports the countrysidehe Republic President issued a new decree which imposes a 50% tariff on imports and exports of white corn, which will be in force until December 31, 2023.
The above, because the elimination of duty to imports of cornnever reduced the price of tortillas.
In Sinaloa, the price of tortillas instead of going down, it went up from $25 to $26 per kilo, but in Baja California, Coahuila, Guerrero, Sonora and Tamaulipasthe price is around $30 per kilo.
It must be remembered that the tortillas They are the main food in the basic basket, on average, Mexicans consume 346 kilos a year and it is the main grain produced in the country, with 88% of the volume.
In speech, this decree seeks to make imports more expensive, to facilitate the marketing of White corncausing a rebound in prices in favor of producers.
However, the speeches are always neutralized by the reality of the numbers…
First. Why do they impose a 50% tariff on imports of White corn? if the borders have been wide open for a year, eliminating not only the tariffs, but also the health checks by SENASICA and COFEPRIS, which put the health and lives of Mexicans at risk, caused by the Package against Inflation and Famine (PACIC) and the Opening Agreement against Inflation and Famine (APECIC).
However, the elimination of tariffs did not reduce food prices, according to INEGI, general inflation is 5.18% in the first fortnight of June 2023, but the prices of food and beverages are at 10.67%, which means that the prices of Food has increased more than twice as much as general inflation.
What PACIC and APECIC did achieve was a record in the imports of corn7 million tons arrived in the country from January to April 2023, this is 19% more than last year.
Second. The elimination of duty It only applies to countries with which we do not have a Free Trade Agreement and therefore excludes the United States, from where we import almost 90% of our white corn, but in case the Federal Government decides to include the USA, this could generate controversies within the framework of the T-MEC, putting 800,000 million dollars at risk, which represents the trade flow with USA and Canada.
Third. Imposing a 50% tariff on white corn exports goes against the interests of producers, who see the international market as a window to vent excess corn from Mexico.
The only way out to solve the commercialization of white corn from Sinaloa is with extraordinary and unique support, which compensates the difference between the $7,000 that the producers aspire to and the $5,200 that the buyers are paying, all the other actions that the federal or state government they are blank bullets, which have no impact on the market.
For this reason, I ask you dear reader: do you believe that the Federal Government has the will to solve the commercialization of corn or it only intends to continue kicking the ball forward?
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