Rise in Food Product Prices Pushes Inflation in September

Among this week’s top stories, Inflation in Mexico grew 0.41 percent in early September, the main reason being the increase in food prices. Meanwhile, US farmers urge Washington to challenge the Mexican ban on GM corn under a regional free trade agreement.

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Prices of Food Products Push Inflation Levels

Consumer prices in food products rose 0.41 percent in early September, resulting in an annual rate increase of 8.76 percent. Core inflation stood at 8.27 percent as a result of increases in commodity prices of 10.75 percent, whereas food, beverages and tobacco climbed 13.27 percent.  Tomatoes, small restaurants and electricity costs are the factors that had the greatest impact on overall inflation. In the case of tomatoes, costs increased 5.57 percent in September compared to the second half of August, making it the commodity with the highest impact on the overall index. 

US Farmers Reject López Obrador’s Ban on Transgenic Corn

In 2020, President López Obrador stated that his government would work to gradually phase out genetically modified (GM) corn and glyphosate herbicides by 2024. Since then, different agribusiness companies have raised 26 amparos in court against this measure. What is more, farmers based in the US have asked their government to challenge the 2024 target. Meanwhile, supporters of the initiative explained that transgenic seeds can contaminate Mexico’s ancient native varieties and pointed to research showing adverse effects of glyphosate.

Mexico and Morocco to Strengthen Ties in the Agri-food Sector

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER), Victor Villalobos, and Morocco’s ambassador to Mexico, Abdelfattah Lebbar, held a workshop focused on identifying opportunities for cooperation in the agrifood sector between both countries. During the meeting, they agreed to promote scientific-technological collaboration for avocado and date crops, as well as protected agriculture projects and tech-based irrigation systems.

OCEANA Presents Initiative to Fight Illegal Fishing

To fight illegal fishing, OCEANA partnered up with restaurateurs to showcase the importance of understanding how to fishing supply chain works through the initiative #DelBarcoAlPlato. OCEANA is an international organization that focuses on the protection of the oceans through the recovery of fisheries, fighting illegal fishing and creating marine protected areas. Since 2018, the organization has worked toward the approval of the fish and shellfish traceability norm, which CONAPESCA has been analyzing since March 2021. 

Empowering Women Farmers to Contribute to Food Security 

“In recent years, agriculture has faced significant challenges in different areas, including climate change, poor access to finance and insufficient use of technology as well as constant political, economic, and social phenomena… The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that women in rural economies make up almost 50 percent of the planet's agricultural labor force. Despite their importance in this activity, they have benefited the least from the resources available to help them improve their working conditions and increase the amount of food they produce,” wrote Ana Claudia Cerasoli, President for the Mesoandean Regio, Corteva Agriscience.