Annual U.S. corn exports to Mexico have averaged about 10 million tons since 2007

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), initiated in 1994, has provided much of the legal framework for a tremendous expansion in U.S. corn exports to Mexico. Compared with their average annual volume during the decade prior to NAFTA (1984-93), these exports have more than quadrupled. The export volume for 2011, 10.6 million metric tons, included 8.6 million metric tons of conventional corn, 1.8 million metric tons of DDGS, and 240,000 metric tons of cracked corn, which consists of broken or ground kernels and is used as animal feed. U.S. corn exports (including cracked corn and DDGS) to Mexico accounted for 32 percent of Mexico's supply during 2007-11, compared with 14 percent during 1984-93. Yellow corn, used primarily as animal feed or to manufacture starch, makes up the bulk of U.S. corn exports to Mexico. White corn, used mainly to make tortillas and other corn-based foods, accounted for about 4 percent of these exports during 2007-11. This chart is an update of one found in NAFTA at 17: Full Implementation Leads to Increased Trade and Integration, WRS-11-01, March 2011.

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