Contraband, more than 90% of the sugar that enters Mexico comes from Guatemala

The country’s cane and sugar producing sector is suffering a new blow due to the growing smuggling from Guatemala, according to official data and information from the Agricultural Market Consulting Group (GCMA). According to the gap between what Mexico reports in terms of income and what the neighboring country reports in terms of expenses, smuggling in this sector reaches 93.8 percent.

The consultant warned that this agribusiness is not only affected by the reduction in the export quota to the United States and the replacement of sugar with high fructose corn syrup, but also by the introduction of the product across the southern border.

Last August, the National Chamber of Sugar and Alcohol Industries warned that the sector is seeing an impact due to illegal smuggling, which refers to the entry of sugar, particularly in the south of the country, that does not go through legal channels.

According to official data and the GCMA, between October 2025 and February 2026, Guatemala reported exports to Mexico of approximately 16 thousand tons of sugar, while our country registered only one thousand imported in the same period.

This “suggests a differential of up to 15 thousand tons that would have entered the country without complying with the current tariff provisions (a rate of 156 percent),” said the GCMA.

Juan Carlos Anaya, general director of the consulting firm, pointed out to The Day that this is a blow to the cane and sugar chain, since it not only evades taxes, but also introduces products at artificially low prices, which generates unfair competition for national producers.

The GCMA recalled that the Attorney General’s Office seized a truck with 22 tons of sugar in early March, allegedly from the Guatemalan mill Palo Gordo, near the Customs Office in Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas.

In addition to Palo Gordo, sugar produced in the Guatemalan sugar mills of Santa Ana and La Unión has been detected in various supply centers in Mexico, including the one located in the Iztapalapa mayor’s office.

He also indicated that this agribusiness is affected by the reduction in the export quota of Mexican sugar to the United States, something that limits the output of the national surplus, increasing domestic availability and putting pressure on domestic prices.

Furthermore, the use of high fructose corn syrup by the food and beverage industry displaces domestic sugar, reduces demand and deepens the imbalance between supply and domestic consumption.