Honduras says bean and corn reserves are sufficient despite drought
Honduras holds strategic reserves of 120,000 quintals of beans and 76,000 quintals of corn, according to the IHMA. The agency says supplies are sufficient despite drought damage, although producers and traders have warned of shortages.
IHMA reports sufficient strategic stocks
Honduras currently holds strategic reserves of 120,000 quintals of beans and 76,000 quintals of corn, according to Carlos Moncada, deputy director of the Honduran Agricultural Marketing Institute, known as IHMA. The figures are intended to reassure the domestic market as a prolonged drought raises questions about the availability and price of the country’s main staple grains.
Moncada told journalists in Tegucigalpa that Honduras was not facing a shortage despite the drought. He said there was sufficient supply in the market and that the authorities were prepared to respond if scarcity emerged. The official assessment covers two products central to household consumption and to the operations of farmers, wholesalers, retailers and public food-distribution agencies.
New harvest expected to reach the market
According to Proceso Digital, Moncada said new production would need approximately 20 days to become available on the market. That timetable makes existing stocks particularly important: the reserves can provide a buffer while recently harvested grain moves through collection, processing and distribution channels. The report did not specify how much new bean or corn production was expected, nor how long the strategic reserves could support consumption.
The supply outlook nevertheless remains contested. Proceso Digital reported that several producers and traders had warned of shortages in some products. Basic-grain growers also project that the postrera harvest will not reach the volumes recorded in previous years because of the prolonged drought associated with the El Niño climate phenomenon. The official reserve figures therefore indicate available protection against immediate disruption, but they do not remove uncertainty surrounding the size of the incoming crop.
Discount plan targets consumer access
Moncada also announced plans for an agreement involving the National Supplier of Basic Products, or Banasupro. Under the proposed arrangement, consumers would receive a 25% discount on beans and corn at Banasupro sales outlets. The measure would address affordability as well as physical availability, particularly if concerns over the postrera harvest place upward pressure on commercial-market prices.
No start date, eligible volumes or duration was provided for the discount program. Those details will determine how broadly the measure affects households and whether it changes purchasing patterns in private retail channels. For grain-market participants, the next key indicators will be the arrival of new production within the stated 20-day period, the actual postrera volumes and any use of the strategic reserves. Together, those factors will show whether IHMA’s stocks remain a precautionary buffer or must be released to cover a tighter domestic market.
