Brazil corn exports to Mexico surge on Trump, NAFTA fears

Brazilian corn exports to Mexico jumped to 561,242 mt in 2017 from close to zero in 2016, according to Brazil's trade ministry.

The rise in imports came as US president Donald Trump sought to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, sending its southern trade partner scrambling to source other suppliers of corn, a staple for its citizens.

In January, Brazil exported 96,823 mt of yellow corn to Mexico, after having shipped none in the same month of 2017, the ministry data showed.

The increase in corn trade between the two Latin American nations comes after Mexican officials visited Brazil and Argentina in mid-2017.

Mexico is the second largest importer of US corn but is expected to further expand its sourcing of the grain in 2018 with Brazil high on the list of possible originations.

Brazil’s corn inventories built up after a record 97 million mt harvest in 2016/17 and the country is now harvesting another large crop this season.

In 2017, Brazil exported a record 29.24 million mt of corn, up from 21.83 million mt the year before, making it the second largest exporter of the grain after the US.

Total exports of Brazilian corn reached 3 million mt in January 2018, twice as much as the 1.45 million mt shipped in the same month last year, trade ministry data showed.

Japan and Spain are among the largest importers of Brazilian corn, importing 2.95 million and 2.87 million mt in 2017, respectively.