Global Policy Forum

US Ethanol Expansion Cost Mexico Billions in Higher Import Prices

ethanol
Picture Credit: veteranstoday.com
Released on the eve of a key meeting of vice ministers of agriculture from the G-20, this working paper urges Mexico, which has the presidency of the G-20, to put biofuels, import dependence and other underlying causes of the food crisis on the agenda. Mexico imports one-third of its corn and the study has found that due to US biofuels policy, the added cost of importing corn in Mexico was between US$1.5bn and US$3.2 bn from 2006-2011.This price increase significantly contributed to rising hunger and food insecurity in Mexico, where the cost of the staple diet, corn tortillas, rose by 60 percent. As chair of the G-20, Mexico has a unique opportunity to take a strong position against bad policies, and should call on other leading economies to curb their biofuels policies.



By Timothy A. Wise

Global Development and Environment Institute

May 2012


To view the report, click here.

 

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