GMO ban will affect Mexican cotton production: USDA

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) projects a drastic impact in Mexico as of the 2023-2024 season due to the ban on transgenic seeds in Mexican cotton crops.

For now, the USDA expects production for the 2022/2023 marketing year to be 1.46 million bales, slightly higher than the previous forecast in August due to more hectares being planted in Chihuahua and in the La Laguna region. Likewise, the total area planted is forecast at 203,833 hectares in the 2022/2023 campaign, with the state of Chihuahua as the main cotton producer, where 153,349 hectares are expected to be planted.

Growers expanded their planted acreage on expectations of strong global demand, good prices and dry conditions that favor cotton, which requires less water than other crops.

Despite the projected increase in planted acreage for the 2022/2023 marketing year compared to the previous year, planted acreage and yield continue to be constrained, according to the USDA, by limited access to innovative seed technology and by increase in input costs.

Mexico’s government has not approved any GM cotton planting permits since 2019 and has been restricting glyphosate imports under the presidential corn decree to phase out use of the chemical by 2024.

“GM cotton seeds are imported from the United States from obsolete varieties that no US grower is interested in growing. This lack of access to genetically modified seeds will begin to have more drastic effects for the 2023/2024 season, particularly in Tamaulipas, where the only varieties allowed by the Mexican government are no longer produced,” the USDA said.

At the same time, it also forecasts that cotton consumption will reach 2 million bales in the 2022/2023 campaign, this is 5% less than in the previous forecast, due to the expected slow growth in national and global demand.

Textile market dynamics have been driven by significant cuts in consumer discretionary spending due to growing concerns about national and global macroeconomic conditions, especially domestic inflation. The USDA expects Mexico to import 100% of US cotton.

roberto.morales@eleconomista.mx