Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has introduced an agriculture plan aimed at boosting domestic production of staple foods such as beans, corn, and coffee. The plan is reminiscent of policies from the 1980s, with a focus on food sovereignty and government-run stores offering basic goods.
“It is about producing what we eat,” Sheinbaum said of her policy, whose main focus will be on increasing bean and corn production.
On Monday, she said, “It is much better to eat a bean taco than a bag of potato chips.”
Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegué said the focus would be on guaranteeing prices for farmers who grow corn used for tortillas and lowering tortilla prices by 10 percent, after prices jumped a few years ago.
Sheinbaum’s administration intends to increase bean production by 30 percent within six years and provide higher-yield seeds to farmers, aiming to reduce reliance on imports.
“Self-sufficiency in beans is a goal the president has set for us,” Berdegué said.
The government will also focus on supporting coffee production, but mainly for instant coffee, which it claims is used by 84% of Mexican households. The plan will also seek to support cocoa production, but mainly for powdered baking and hot chocolate, not fine chocolate bars.
The policies appear to run counter to market trends and what Mexican food sales look like today, when consumption of most of the old basics has fallen.
Most Mexicans today shop at modern grocery stores, and consumption of fresh ground coffee, not instant, has increased enormously, accompanied by a boom in specialized coffee chains and shops.
Meanwhile, bean consumption has been dropping precipitously for decades in Mexico. According to the government’s “2024 Agricultural Panorama” report, Mexicans consume only about 17 pounds (7.7 kilograms) of beans annually. That’s less than half of the 35.2 pounds (16 kilograms) consumed per year in 1980.
A combination of factors, including the time it takes to cook dried beans, may be behind this. Amanda Gálvez, a researcher at Mexico’s National Autonomous University, wrote that “we look down at beans because it is considered ‘the food of the poor,’ and we are making a serious mistake,” because beans are a good source of protein.
However, the health benefits aren’t clear: The most common bean recipe in Mexico — refried beans — often contains a considerable dose of lard.
Tortilla consumption has also fallen from nearly 220 pounds (100 kilograms) per capita annually in 2000 to about 165 pounds (75 kilograms) in 2024. Consumers have increasingly taken to buying bread and other bakery products instead of tortillas.
Apart from the challenge of trying to change consumer habits, the policy also runs counter to market trends. While some countries are trying to encourage high-value varietal and specialized chocolate strains, Mexico is focusing on the cheapest products.
However, the plan faces challenges, including changing consumer habits, as bean and tortilla consumption has declined over the decades. In contrast, instant coffee, another focus of the plan, is losing ground to fresh coffee as consumer preferences shift. Additionally, Mexico’s chocolate production, once dominant, has decreased due to plant diseases and lack of investment.
The initiative reflects Sheinbaum’s commitment to following the nationalist, self-sufficiency policies of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Yet, experts express skepticism about the government’s ability to shift consumer preferences, as seen with previous public health campaigns.
Mexico’s new agriculture plan could strain trade relations with the United States, especially in the agricultural sector. The focus on achieving food sovereignty by boosting domestic production of staples like beans and corn may lead to a reduction in Mexico’s reliance on U.S. imports. Since the U.S. is a key supplier of these crops, this shift could lower demand for U.S. agricultural exports, in turn hurting U.S. farmers, who rely on Mexico as a key export market.
Mexico’s agriculture plan under President Claudia Sheinbaum could potentially conflict with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) due to its emphasis on domestic self-sufficiency and government price supports. The USMCA is designed to promote free trade among the three nations, ensuring fair competition and minimizing trade barriers. Policies that prioritize domestic production through government intervention—such as price guarantees or subsidies—could be seen as protectionist, potentially violating USMCA rules on market access and agricultural subsidies.
For instance, if Mexico’s focus on boosting bean and corn production through price supports or import restrictions reduces U.S. access to the Mexican market, this could lead to trade disputes. Similarly, policies encouraging reduced imports from the U.S. may undermine the principle of free trade enshrined in the agreement, which could spark tensions or trigger legal challenges under the USMCA’s dispute resolution mechanisms.
Additionally, the move could disrupt supply chains, forcing U.S. farmers to find new markets and potentially impacting their pricing strategies. Overall, the shift toward food self-sufficiency in Mexico may challenge the long-standing agricultural trade dynamic between the two nations.
Claudia Sheinbaum, inaugurated on October 1, has entered office with more political influence than any Mexican leader since the country’s move away from single-party rule in the 1990s. As the successor to Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) and his protégé, she secured a historic 35.9 million votes, nearly 60 percent of the total, and holds a two-thirds supermajority in Congress. This gives her substantial control over legislative decisions and policy direction in Mexico.