Record High for Mexico's Corn Imports in the First Half of the Year
mexicosolidarity.com
Corn imports hit 12.28 million tons, almost all US yellow corn for livestock, while white corn for tortillas fell as domestic harvests stabilized supply.

This article by Braulio Carbajal originally appeared in the July 20, 2026 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

External corn purchases reached a record high between January and June of 2026, both in volume and in commercial value, according to figures from the National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM). The push came almost entirely from yellow corn, a grain destined mainly for livestock feed and industrial processes.

According to the data compiled by the Agricultural Markets Consulting Group (GCMA), the total volume of corn imported in the half-year totaled 12.28 million tons, an increase of 8.6% compared to the same period of 2025, while its commercial value stood at 2.539 billion dollars, an annual advance of 3.4 percent.

Of the total, 11.70 million tons corresponded to yellow corn (coming from the United States), an increase of 10.1 percent with respect to a year earlier.

White corn, used in the production of masa and tortillas, had the opposite behavior. Imports of this grain fell 15.9 percent in volume and 11.5 percent in value, standing at 490,000 tons, a decline that reflected a more stable domestic supply after the national harvest came in during the half-year.

Corn consolidated its position as the product with the greatest weight within the country’s agri-food imports, in an environment of more moderate international prices compared to the previous year, according to GCMA’s analysis. That behavior explains a good part of the increase registered in the set of grains and oilseeds that Mexico buys abroad.

Total Grain Volume Rises 6.3%

In the total of grains and oilseeds, the volume imported by Mexico rose to 23.95 million tons in the first half of the year, an increase of 6.3 percent with respect to the same span of 2025. The commercial value of those operations was 7.581 billion dollars, with a growth of 4.4 percent.

The increase was sustained by the greater intake of corn, the soybean complex, canola, barley, and malt, which offset the declines registered in wheat, sorghum, beans, soybean oil, and oats.

The soybean complex, made up of grain, meal, and oil, totaled 5.08 million tons, with an increase of 15.1 percent. Soybean grain advanced 9.8 percent in volume and 19.7 percent in value, while soybean meal, used in the formulation of balanced feed, registered a jump of 34.1 percent in volume and 34.8 percent in value.

Soybean oil remained among the products with the greatest contraction, with a fall of 35.5 percent in volume and 24.6 percent in value. Joint purchases of palm, canola, and sunflower oils retreated 13 percent in volume and 12.7 percent in value.

Canola figured among the products with the best performance of the half-year. Purchases of this grain totaled 980,000 tons, a rise of 10.6 percent in volume and 21.8 percent in value, driven by demand from the oil industry.

Wheat imports stood at 2.45 million tons, with a drop of 4.2 percent in volume and of one percentage point in value, which reflected a more balanced market and a lower need for external supply.

Sorghum lost ground more markedly, with a reduction of 23 percent in volume and 25.9 percent in value, in a context of substitution by corn.

Beans registered the largest fall of the half-year, with a decline of 32.6 percent in volume and 52 percent in value, favored by greater availability of domestic supply. Oats also retreated, with drops of 30.6 percent in volume and 29.8 percent in value.

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