Indiana farmer Josh Miller was among several ag leaders representing the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) on a recent trade visit to Mexico.
Miller, who is from Madison County and had served as USGC Chair in 2022-23, was joined by the USGC’s current chair Brent Boydston, for meetings in Monterrey with major stakeholders in the U.S. and Mexico corn trade market. Miller continues to serve on the USGC board of director as Past Chair.
The group met with staff from the U.S. Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) to coordinate future collaboration efforts in the country. The ATO works with private industry and government officials in both the United States and Mexico to serve as a center for U.S. export promotion and a point of contact for Mexican importers looking to purchase feed grains and other products.
“With the recent political obstacles and challenges to rail transport logistics affecting grain imports from Mexico, it’s vital for the Council to work in tandem with the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service in Mexico to keep shipments moving,” said Boydston. “U.S. producers and Mexican importers and end-users alike need reassurance that trade will continue operating smoothly, and it’s our duty to facilitate that goal.”
The delegation also met with staff from a leading global food production company that offers products in 112 countries to discuss how U.S. producers can meet the company’s demand. USGC is trying to keep U.S. ag as the premier option for Mexican importers.
At the beginning of June, Claudia Sheinbaum won Mexico’s presidential election and will assume office on Oct. 1, 2024. Many ag leaders—including NASDA CEO and Tipton County, Indiana native Ted McKinney—have expressed their optimism that Sheinbaum will overturn a decree issued by Mexico’s current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador that bans the import of U.S. biotech white corn for human consumption.
Source: NAFB News Service
