Summary:
* Corn as a commodity has a high importance in both Mexico and the USA * In the USA, the most of the corn is used to feed livestock and for bio-ethanol production * Mexico also produces corn for the livestock feed but most of its corn production is purposed for making “tortillas” which is the main aliment of Mexico’s citizens * With the NAFTA agreement Mexico has allowed itself to become dependent of highly subsidized cheap U.S corn * Many developing countries are beginning to emerge on the market and are starting to compete with the USA in corn trade * For Mexico it is important that the production is modernized in order to achieve its self-sufficiency and the USA should re-evaluate the increasing trend of using corn for bio-ethanol production
Introduction
Today, one of the most produced and a traded commodity is corn. It is being produced all over the world and the extent of trade has significantly increased in the recent history. Corn as a commodity has many uses for its production and one of the most important ones are livestock feed, production of bio-ethanol and many other purposes in food or similar industries. In this report, the writer has chosen to analyze two important corn producers who are both members of the NAFTA agreement. In the first part, the USA corn market will be analyzed with all the important factors such as production, exports, imports and price trends in the country. Furthermore, it will explain the reasons and the importance of corn production for the country. The next country which will be analyzed in the same manner is Mexico, but the analysis will be more extensive through the importance of corn for Mexican people and its cultural background. An example will be given of the future market use in Mexico for buying U.S. corn and the reasons for doing it. Finally the future prospective will be evaluated for both countries.
World Corn Trade
Corn is a
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