Tortilla Price Rises

The Federal Consumer Protection’s Office (PROFECO) recently announced that the price of a kilo of tortilla rose to between MX$18 (US$0.87) and MX$20 (US$0.97) in most states of the country. In December 2020, the government made an announcement clarifying that they reached an agreement with flour manufacturers so they would not increase costs. However, during today’s morning press conference, López Obrador mentioned that given international corn price increases, the price of tortillas rose as well. The issue is that this staple Mexican food can disrupt the basic food basket, according to Milenio. “By Feb. 18, the basic salary was only enough to buy six kilos (of tortilla). We care a lot about improving purchasing power and that there is no inflation,” said López Obrador.

The president had said that the price of tortillas would not change, but that has not been the case. Earlier this year, reports cited prices climbing as much as 60 percent.

 Interested in more? Here are the week’s major headlines in Agribusiness and Food!

• The Ministers of Agriculture of Mexico and the US, Víctor Villalobos and Thomas James Vilsack, had a meeting to discuss scientific collaborations for the agri-food industry. “Technological knowledge is fundamental to face climate phenomena. The objective is to achieve better production and guarantee food security,” Villalobos said after the meeting. Talks on agriculture between Mexico and the US will continue in the future. The agenda will include discussions on the development of biotechnology for fertilizer management, pest and disease management to harmonize sanitary protocols and access to the US market.

•  The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Víctor Villalobos Arámbula, announced the signing of an agreement with the Customs Agents Foundation for Child Assistance, A.C., Food Banks of Mexico and the Confederation of Mexico’s Associations of Customs Agents to distribute food withheld in customs to low-income people. This agreement is based on the UN’s Second Sustainable Development Goal.

• Villalobos participated in the inauguration of the Mexico Pavilion at Foodex Japan 2021. He mentioned that this represents a big step forward to resume commercial activities and promote the opportunities that the Japanese market and the Asian region offer to national producers. “The numbers and records are important and motivate us to continue growing, but we never forget that behind the foreign trade figures there are success stories of companies, producers and people who are the face of the transformation of the Mexican countryside,” mentioned Villalobos.

• Since the pandemic began, a “dry law” was implemented, which has affected the sale of beverages like beer and tequila. Karla Siqueiros, General Director of the National Chamber of the Beer and Malt Industry (Cerveceros de México), mentioned. “It has been observed that these measures have little effectiveness and end up not achieving the expected result, which is that people stay at home. What we have observed in Mexico is that the restrictions encourage illegal markets. Demand for illicit suppliers increases and, therefore, there is a clandestine sale.” With a somewhat uncertain outlook due to lingering lockdowns, beverages industries expect 2021 to be less challenging and are confident that the results will be better than in 2020.