Mexico is announcing a food and agriculture plan that could take the country back to the 1980s

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MEXICO CITY (AP) – Mexico’s new president announced a new agricultural plan Tuesday that could make the country’s food production and distribution look more like it did in the 1980s, when the diet in Mexico was dominated by tortillas, beans and quick and cheap coffee. hot chocolate.

Four decades ago, the ingredients for that food were often bought from government stores that included a few basic items.

President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged Tuesday to revive those often lax, limited government stores and continue efforts to achieve “food sovereignty.”

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“It’s about producing what we eat,” Sheinbaum said of his food control plan, which will focus on increasing production of beans and corn.

Sheinbaum seems to have a keen interest in growing beans. On Monday, he said “It’s better to eat a bean taco than a bag of potato chips.”

The Secretary of Agriculture, Julio Berdegue, said that the main focus will be on guaranteeing the prices of the farmers who grow the corn used for tortillas and reducing the prices of tortillas by 10%, after the prices have jumped in the past few years.

The government aims to increase soybean production by about 30% in six years to replace imported soybeans, and will establish research centers to provide high-yielding soybean seeds.

“Satisfying ourselves with beans is the goal the president has set for us,” said Berdegue.

The government will also focus on supporting coffee production, but especially instant coffee, which is said to be used by 84% of Mexican families. The program will also seek to support cocoa production, but mainly baking powder and hot chocolate, not fine chocolate bars.

The policies seem to be at odds with market trends and what Mexican food sales look like today, where the use of old staples has declined.

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Most Mexicans today shop in modern grocery stores, and the consumption of cheap fresh coffee has, not immediately, increased dramatically, along with the rise of coffee chains and specialty stores.

And bean consumption has been in decline for decades in Mexico. According to the government’s “2024 Agricultural Panorama” report, Mexicans eat only 17 pounds (7.7 kilograms) of beans per year, less than half of the 35.2 pounds (16 kilograms) consumed annually in 1980.

A combination of factors, including the time it takes to cook the dried beans, may be behind this. Amanda Galvez, a researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, wrote that “we look down on beans because they are considered ‘food for the poor,’ and we are making a big mistake,” because beans are a good source of protein.

However, the health benefits are unclear: The most common bean recipe in Mexico – refried beans – usually contains a large amount of lard.

Tortilla consumption also decreased from about 220 pounds (100 kilograms) per person per year in 2000 to about 165 pounds (75 kilograms) in 2024. Consumers are increasingly opting for bread and other bakery products instead of tortillas.

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Besides the challenge of changing consumer habits, the policy is also market oriented. While other countries try to promote high-value and specialty chocolate brands, Mexico focuses on the cheapest products.

Although chocolate was first exported to the world from Mexico, production in Mexico declined dramatically due to plant diseases and lack of investment. It decreased from about 50,000 tons in 2003 to about 28,000 tons in 2022.

And while many Mexican households may have a pot of instant coffee in their cupboards, that’s not where the trend – or consumer spending – is headed. According to Technavio’s industry report, instant products account for only 37% of coffee sales in Mexico.

Sheinbaum’s focus on self-sufficiency in oil, energy and food is a departure from his predecessor and political mentor, former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who left office on September 30.

Lopez Obrador also seems to have conveyed his desire to live in Mexico in the style of the 1970s – including commuter rail, state-run industries, united families and small shops – to Sheinbaum.

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