Grain Producers Reject Government Offer: “It doesn’t cover costs.”

ByNestor Jiménez and Alexia Villaseñor

This article by Nestor Jiménez and Alexia Villaseñor originally appeared in the October 28, 2025 edition of La Jornada, Mexico’s premier left wing daily newspaper.

Amid nationwide protests by corn producers demanding fair prices for the grain, representatives from several entities rejected the government’s offer to set the price per ton at 6,050 pesos, as proposed by the Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development, Julio Berdegué, at a roundtable discussion held at the Government Office.

The tortilla and flour industry pays producers 5,200 pesos per ton as the base price, plus government aid of 850 pesos, but this does not cover production or transportation costs. Their demand is 7,200 pesos per ton.

Annoyed, representatives from Jalisco, Michoacán, Guerrero, and Guanajuato broke the table, agreeing that this proposal only benefits the masa and tortilla industries. Some producers waiting in front of Cobián Palace, after hearing their colleagues’ message, even tried to enter the building without success and stated that they will hold protests and blockade roads in various states until they receive a solution. “We are here because we need a bailout for the countryside; there’s no profit at this price,” they asserted.

Shortly after the meeting concluded, Secretary Berdegué announced in a video on social media that, in agreement with the governments of Guanajuato, Jalisco, and Michoacán, a price of 6,050 pesos per ton of white corn was established in the three states. He indicated that this price is 25 percent higher than the international market price, located in the center of the country.

This measure, he indicated, includes a loan for white corn producers with an annual interest rate of 8.5 percent, plus support from agricultural insurance. The loans will be opened soon for white corn producers and the governments of Jalisco, Guanajuato, and Michoacán.

At an evening press conference, Jalisco representative Pavel Guerrero emphasized that what Secretary Berdegué announced was a measure that “was already being paid for last week. What we’re seeking is a minimum base price of 6,000 pesos from the industry, plus support from the federal government, and even achieving the target of 7,200 pesos.”