The United States could lose out on a lot of grain exporting opportunities to Mexico if the re-negotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) do not end well, a leader with the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) said.
Ryan LeGrand, USCG Mexico director, said during a press conference hosted by Farmers for Free Trade on March 1, that Mexican grain buyers are already looking more toward South American countries such as Brazil and Argentina than they had been previously, which should be of great concern to the U.S.
“We’ve seen Mexico start to look for a Plan B and start to import a little bit more corn from Brazil and Argentina. It’s still a small amount relative to what is being imported from the United States, but it should really raise alarms in the U.S. grain supply system,” LeGrand said.
According to LeGrand, the United States has “lots of conveniences and advantages that South America doesn’t have.” Among those are a well-integrated rail system that helps for a much more speedy delivery of grain, which is advantageous to the Mexican buyers and end users that may have urgent grain needs for things such as livestock and poultry feed.
“In the United States, we can’t rest on our laurels and think that things are always going to operate the same way,” said LeGrand. “We need to work at every single level to make sure we don’t lose market share to South America.”
The Farmers for Free Trade press conference involved representatives of all three North American countries and featured speakers, including farmers and producers, to highlight how the free flow of agricultural products between Mexico and the U.S. supports jobs and economic growth in both countries.
The conference was being held as the seventh round of NAFTA negotiations took place in Mexico City.
Farmers for Free Trade is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and expanding export opportunities for American farms and ranches.