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PORTSIDE CULTURE

HARDLINE U.S. STANCE IGNORES NON-GM CORN OPPORTUNITY FOR U.S. FARMERS
 
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Ken Roseboro and Timothy A. Wise

Food Tank
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_ U.S. farmers of non-GMO corn could earn premium prices,
particularly attractive right now that corn prices fell more than 30
percent last year. U.S. trade officials prefer not to discuss non-GM
opportunities but some farmers would welcome them. _

Mexico’s modest restrictions could benefit U.S. farmers of non-GMO
corn, Waldemar, Unsplash

 

United States commodity organizations have cheered on the U.S.
government as it tries to get Mexico’s restrictions on genetically
modified (GM) corn declared in violation of our trade agreement with
Mexico and Canada, arguing that it cuts farmers’ export markets and
sales revenues. But what if Mexico’s modest restrictions could
instead turn out to benefit U.S. farmers who shift to premium
non-genetically modified (GM) corn markets as international corn
prices fall?

It sounds counter-intuitive, but it might just be true. The math is
pretty simple. Despite all the bluster about Mexico’s February 2023
restrictions on GM corn, they affect a very small share of U.S.
exports. After negotiations with the U.S. government over a more
restrictive 2020 decree, Mexico dramatically limited its revised
order, exempting GM feed corn from any mandated reductions. The
restrictions apply only
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the use of GM corn in tortillas and other products minimally processed
for direct human consumption.

The restrictions were intended mainly as precautionary measures for a
population that consumes more such corn products than anyone else on
the planet. The corn for tortillas, and the minimally processed flour
for tamales, enchiladas, and other Mexican staples, are overwhelmingly
non-GM white and native varieties from Mexican producers.

Before the decree, Mexico was importing only about 600,000 tons of
white corn from the U.S. each year, a tiny share of the 16.5 million
tons of U.S. corn
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imported last year. That means that barely 3 percent of U.S. corn
exports are potentially affected by Mexico’s restrictions. But the
share is actually closer to 1 percent, because only an estimated half
of U.S. white corn are GM varieties, and barely half of U.S. white
corn exports
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destined for Mexico’s tortilla industry, according to USDA reports.

So just 1 percent of U.S. corn exports are potentially affected by
Mexico’s policies. From the beginning, the Mexican government has
asserted that its revised and less restrictive decree has little
impact on U.S. producers. They are right, and the U.S. in the formal
presentation of its complaint
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not even attempt to quantify how many U.S. farmers are affected.

And here’s the thing: Those who are affected can always switch to
non-GMO white food-grade corn and export to Mexico’s tortilla
industry.

U.S. farmers who do that could earn premium prices, ranging from $0.25
to $0.50 per bushel for non-GMO white corn, according to industry
sources. Such premiums could be particularly attractive right now to
farmers who saw corn prices fall more than 30 percent last year.

U.S. trade officials have preferred not to discuss non-GM
opportunities for U.S. farmers, but some farmers and grain suppliers
would welcome them.

“I think the U.S. farmer would be delighted to have a market where
they would get paid more by providing an identity-preserved, (non-GMO)
crop,” says Lynn Clarkson, CEO of Clarkson Grain
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Graham Christensen, a fifth-generation farmer in Lyons, Nebraska, is
one example. “Absolutely, if there’s a demand there, let’s find
ways to partner with Mexico,” he says. “They’re that much
closer, and they’re a trade partner. We should make it happen.”

Nate Belcher, co-owner of Hybrid85 [[link removed]], a
Nebraska-based non-GM corn seed company, says his state—the leading
producer of white corn in the U.S.—could meet Mexico’s demand for
non-GMO corn.

“There’s a US$450 million market in corn going from Nebraska to
Mexico. We could fill the non-GMO demand from Nebraska and a good
portion of the Midwest as well,” he says.

According to Farm Action,
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farm advocacy group, “if the U.S. shifted 180,000 acres (0.2 percent
of its corn acreage) of GM corn to non-GMO, it would generate US$7.75
million in additional premiums for U.S. farmers and successfully meet
Mexico’s needs.”

The U.S. trade officials and farm commodity groups are ignoring basic
business common sense: _Give the customers what they want_. Mexico
wants non-GM corn, and U.S. farmers can supply it, creating a mutually
beneficial relationship instead of the current animosity of the
current trade dispute.

U.S. farmers would be better served if our government supported a
smooth transition for farmers affected by Mexico’s corn policies to
non-GM production to meet that country’s changing demand.

_This piece is written by KEN ROSEBORO, the publisher of The Organic
and Non-GMO Report [[link removed]] and Timothy A.
Wise, a Senior Advisor at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade
Policy._

_Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the
generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part
of our growing movement? __Become a member today by clicking here_
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* GMO safety
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* GMO
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* corn
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* Trade Agreements
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