August 7, 2008

Mexico 2008 corn harvest on target for 25 million tonnes

Mexico's 2008 corn harvest is on track to rise 6.8 percent to 25 million tonnes from 23.4 million tonnes in 2007, Agriculture Minister Alberto Cardenas said Wednesday (August 6).

Cardenas said at a press conference that in the harvesting of the fall-winter crop, which is in its final stages, there have been no weather problems that would lead to any revisions in the estimates.

Mexican grains imports from January through June, meanwhile, showed mixed results.

Yellow corn imports rose 35 percent to 4.441 million tonnes, from 3.279 million tonnes in the first half of 2007. Sorghum imports fell 64 percent to 400,000 tonnes from 1.117 million tonnes in the January-June 2007 period, while wheat imports fell 37 percent to 1.026 million tonnes from 1.626 million tonnes in the first half of last year.

Cardenas said the overall trend for grains imports continues to decline as Mexican producers increase output to meet rising domestic demand with local crops.

Mexico's 2008 agriculture year includes the fall-winter crop harvested from May to August, and the spring-summer crop, which is harvested between October and December.