Mexico’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER) will begin integrating sugarcane producers into welfare programs following a year of rising tensions caused by low-priced sugar imports that industry leaders say have displaced domestic output and pressured farmer incomes, Mexico Business News reported.
The move is part of the sugarcane modernization strategy under Plan México, which emphasizes greater mechanization, improved water use, and higher productivity. Through this initiative, SADER aims to enroll producers in welfare programs to improve living standards while strengthening their production capacity.
Under the operating rules, registration for beneficiaries is scheduled for February and March. The process will also allow producers to access financing through the Harvesting Sovereignty program at a preferential interest rate of 8.5%, with the goal of improving liquidity, boosting productivity, and enhancing economic stability across the sector.
The financing is expected to sharply lower borrowing costs compared with loans from sugar mills, where interest rates can reach up to 30%. Authorities believe the initiative will ease financial pressure, expand access to key inputs and timely credit, reinforce rural well-being, and support domestic production.
The announcement follows a turbulent year for the industry. In November, producers from states including Veracruz, Morelos, San Luis Potosí, and Puebla blocked the entrance to SADER’s headquarters in Mexico City, accusing the federal government of causing losses during the 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 harvests by permitting large volumes of sugar imports.
Farmers estimated their losses at MX$300 per tonne (US$17.39), arguing that Mexico has historically been self-sufficient in sugar and that imports have harmed the domestic market.
Claudia Fernández, executive president of the National Chamber of the Sugar and Alcohol Industry (CNIAA), said more than 350,000 tonnes of sugar entered Mexico between January and October 2025 through what she described as technical smuggling, leading to a steep fall in prices.
According to Fernández, smuggling has caused losses of MX$25 billion across the sector, while sugarcane producers alone have seen incomes drop by MX$15 billion. She noted that the sugarcane agroindustry supports about 500,000 jobs, benefits more than 2.4 million people nationwide, and includes over 46 mills operating in 15 states.
“Each year, more than 5 million tonnes of sugar are produced, but recent years have seen a significant rise in both direct and technical smuggling. Technical smuggling exploits legal gaps, as the law is unclear and importers take advantage of these mechanisms,” Fernández said.
She also welcomed amendments to the Customs Law enacted in November 2025, which revised the import tax structure for sugar. The new rules replaced specific tariffs of US$0.338/kg to US$0.39586/kg with ad valorem duties of 156% on raw sugar, beet sugar, or syrup, and 210.44% on liquid, refined, and inverted sugar imports. The measure is expected to help curb illegal shipments from Brazil, Guatemala, and India.
The Agricultural Markets Consulting Group (GCMA) described the measure as appropriate but insufficient to fully restore market balance. It called for additional safeguards, including expanding the US import quota for Mexican sugar and negotiating a mechanism equivalent to the volume of imported high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
Industry concerns have also grown over the rapid increase in HFCS consumption, which producers say threatens both incomes and public health. René González, representative of the Plan de San Luis sugar mill, noted that imports have climbed from roughly 200,000 tonnes annually to more than 1.2 million tonnes.
He said the sweetener, commonly used in soft drinks, jams, cookies, and sauces, has significantly displaced domestic sugar. “Sugar consumption has been demonized, when in reality people are no longer consuming cane sugar. Per capita sugar consumption has fallen, but diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and childhood diabetes have increased. This should set off alarm bells,” González warned.
Mexico produces about 6 million tonnes of sugar each year, while domestic consumption is around 5.5 million tonnes. However, the influx of corn syrup has pushed nearly 1.2 million tonnes of Mexican sugar out of the market, creating a serious imbalance. At the same time, US trade restrictions have limited export opportunities, worsening the situation.
“If we multiply the excess 1 million tonnes by the current price of MX$15,000 per tonne, we are talking about more than MX$15 billion in losses for the national sugar sector,” González said.
Amid these challenges, the sugarcane sector, supported by national organizations, is planning a consumer awareness campaign to clearly distinguish products made with cane sugar from those containing corn syrup. Producers from at least 15 sugar-producing states—including Veracruz, Jalisco, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Yucatán—are expected to participate.
González emphasized that the priority should be strengthening domestic consumption rather than focusing on new export markets. He said this approach could help prevent overproduction, stabilize prices, and secure fair returns for producers. “There is no need to export if we can get the Mexican market to consume what we produce. It is a matter of economic justice and public health,” he said.
