Beans aim for record in foreign purchases

Mexico City.- Mexican bean imports are headed for a new record.

Between January and October, Mexican purchases of grain abroad totaled 220 thousand tons, the highest volume in the last 10 years, and an annual increase of 161 percent, according to figures from the Agricultural Market Consulting Group (GCMA).

Of that volume, around 82.5 percent came from the United States.

In addition, the price of imported grain grew 7 percent annually, reaching $1,187 per ton.

At the same time that foreign purchases of beans increase, national production is going through one of its greatest crises.

Last year, a harvest of 965 thousand tons of the legume was reported, also the lowest figure in the last decade, according to data from the Agri-Food and Fisheries Information Service (SIAP).

Juan Carlos Anaya, general director of the GCMA, explained that with the collapse of more than 50 percent in national bean production, prices to the final consumer will reflect market pressure.

“Due to the drought in the northern states, Zacatecas, Durango and Chihuahua, which are the main bean producers of the Spring-Summer cycle, we will have the lowest production in history, going from 968 thousand to 470 thousand tons from 2022 to 2023 .

“This means a drop in production of 51.4 percent, which means that prices in the chain increase,” the specialist explained.

According to data from Inegi, last October, consumer prices for beans increased 14.4 percent.