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Because Mexico intends to ban the import of genetically modified (GMO) crops, U.S. corn growers could lose a yearly market for 600 million bushels of corn starting next year. This potentially catastrophic situation is due to an “anti-science” Mexican presidential decree that seeks to ban GMO corn starting in 2024 while also phasing out the use of glyphosate in both home-grown and imported crops and food products.
This represents a huge export loss in exports as 90% of U.S. corn acres were planted with herbicide-tolerant hybrids in 2022.
According to a study conducted by the Virginia-based business management consultant World Perspectives, Inc., this prohibition on GMO corn would be devasting both in the states and around the world.
As reported in the Wall Street Journal, the study projects the U.S. corn industry will lose an average of $4.56 billion each year while the annual U.S. gross national product (GNP) would be trimmed by $3.5 billion per year, mainly due to the loss of jobs related to corn production and processing.
With Mexico’s GMO ban, U.S. corn purchases will likely be replaced with the importation of more affordable meat and poultry raised on GMO corn in other countries. This will seriously impact Mexico’s home-grown production of poultry and beef.
Mexico would also suffer greatly from such a ban. The country’s gross national product would shrink by nearly $8 billion per year. The ban would also extend beyond agriculture, with an expected annual loss of 57,000 jobs and…