Mexican farmers have agreed to lift roadblock protests after reaching an agreement with the federal government that includes increased support, credits, and insurance for corn producers. During his morning press conference, the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Julio Berdegué, explained that after hours of dialogue, an aid of 950 pesos was agreed upon for corn producers in Jalisco, Guanajuato, and Michoacán. This support will be funded partly by federal and partly by state resources. Currently, he detailed, the international price of corn is around 3,400 pesos per tonne, which is almost half of the price in 2022. "Once logistics costs are added, it reaches 4,850 pesos, a level that does not cover the production costs for many Mexican producers," he said. It was also agreed to create the Mexican System for Corn Market Ordering and Commercialization, instructed by President Claudia Sheinbaum. This system will seek to establish reference prices, direct agreements between producers and industry, and clear rules to make the commercial chain more transparent. "This system will have mechanisms to define reference prices for corn, and secondly, it will promote direct commercialization agreements between producers and buyers, such as mills, and so on," Berdegué stated. He assured that it will be a system based on clear rules known to all parties and will have an appropriate legal foundation. Furthermore, he informed the government had agreed to the farmers' request not to set a fixed price: "they have the expectation that in these discussion tables, which we will start setting up now, they can still push the price up a bit," the secretary indicated.
