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Mexico’s sugar exports to US set to jump 512% under new deal

MND Staff
By MND Staff
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Sugarcane is produced in over a dozen Mexican states, supplying more than 50 sugar mills.
Sugarcane is produced in over a dozen Mexican states, supplying more than 50 sugar mills. (Margarito Pérez Retana/Cuartoscuro)

Mexico will increase its sugar exports to the United States after years of decline and dissatisfaction from producers.

According to the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday, the United States will import up to 1.152 million tonnes of Mexican sugar in the 2026-2027 cycle, marking an increase of 512% over 2025-2026.

The change in import quota results from bilateral negotiations between the USDA, Mexico’s Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry (Sader) and producers that began in late 2025.

The U.S.-Mexico sugar trade started to sour in 2014 when U.S. sugar industry alliances accused Mexico of selling below market value. This led to the introduction of increasingly strict quotas on the U.S. import of Mexican sugar, reducing exports to the U.S. from approximately one million tonnes annually to a cap of 200,000 tonnes in 2025.

Mexican exports of raw cane and beet sugar to the U.S. reached US $386.3 million in 2025, a slight improvement over the $258.8 million figure recorded in 2024, although far lower than the more than $700 million revenue seen in peak export years. 

Locked out of their top export market and facing unprofitable international prices, Mexico’s producers received a welcome boost from Sader in November 2025 with the announcement of a new tariff of between 156% and 210.44% on sugar imports. The quintuplication of producers’ exports is expected to further increase revenue by up to 4.76 billion pesos ($272 million), which will be distributed among 170,000 sugarcane producers, according to the Mexican government.  

“This outcome confirms that through dialogue it is possible to build important agreements that benefit agricultural producers and food consumers in both Mexico and the United States,” Sheinbaum’s office stated.

While sugar cane and its derivatives make up a small share of Mexico’s foreign trade — around 3% of total annual export revenue — it isn’t just a seller. Mexico is also the top buyer of U.S. sugar exports, primarily in the form of corn-based sweeteners for food and drink manufacturing. 

With reports from El Financiero, La Jornada, Quadratín México and Expansión

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