Mexico seeks domestic sugar purchase quota as it expands support for cane growers
Mexico is negotiating with beverage, food and livestock companies to secure purchases of domestic sugar and reduce imported fructose use. The government is also extending permanent production and fertilizer support to 136,389 cane growers while anticipating stronger exports to the United States.
Government seeks guaranteed domestic demand
Mexico's government is working with the soft-drink, food and livestock industries on a proposal requiring them to purchase a specified share of Mexican sugar and reduce their use of imported fructose. President Claudia Sheinbaum said the measure would expand the domestic market and help prevent another decline in the price paid to sugarcane growers, according to Diario El Mundo.
The proposal is being discussed with growers, cane organizations and sugar mills. The government has not specified the share that companies could be required to buy or a date for implementation. Products under consideration include soft drinks, food and animal feed containing sugar.
Export decline added pressure to prices
Mexico produces about 5 million tonnes of sugar annually. Around 4 million tonnes are consumed domestically, while the remainder had been exported mainly to the United States. Sheinbaum said the US export allocation began declining around 2022, while imports of corn-derived sweeteners used in beverages and other products increased. The combination left more Mexican sugar in the domestic market and reduced returns to cane growers.
The government now expects the United States to require as much as 1.152 million tonnes of Mexican sugar in the 2026-2027 cycle, a volume Sheinbaum rounded to 1.2 million tonnes. She said the recovery in export availability should support a higher price per tonne in the next cycle. El Popular also reported that the next-cycle export quota would permit shipments of 1.2 million tonnes to the United States.
Support reaches growers in 15 states
Agriculture and Rural Development Secretary Columba López Gutiérrez said 136,389 cane growers across 15 states are receiving both Production for Wellbeing assistance and free fertilizer. The programs cover 207,166 hectares, represent an investment of 210 million pesos and had reached 93% national delivery progress, Diario El Mundo reported. Sheinbaum said both forms of assistance would become permanent rather than being limited to the current year.
In Morelos, 40,291 small and medium-sized farmers were added to the fertilizer register this year, according to El Popular. Governor Margarita González Saravia said 70% of Morelos is rural and sugarcane is the state's principal agricultural product. She also announced two harvesting-machine projects in Casasano and Zacatepec and an organic composting project using filter cake to improve soil fertility.
Productivity and new cane uses enter the plan
The wider plan includes crop sanitation, irrigation and technical assistance intended to raise output per hectare. The government is also considering projects to increase electricity generation at sugar mills and produce ethanol from bagasse. These measures would give mills additional uses for cane residues, while the proposed purchasing quota and restored US market access would address the immediate accumulation of sugar in Mexico.
