Browse Data and Analysis

Guatemala continues to be a net importer of both yellow corn and rice. Corn area and production in MY2024/2025 are forecast to slightly increase to keep up with increased consumption for both food and feed; the avian sector keeps steady growth at 3-4 percent annually.

Corn production in 2023/2024 is forecast to increase slightly, despite a reduction in planted area, as commercial farmers look positively at 2023 average record prices of $625/metric ton (MT) at the wholesale markets.

Guatemala continues to be a net importer of both yellow corn and rice. Corn area and production in MY2022/2023 are forecast to shrink one percent as some commercial farmers have decided not to plant corn given record high increases of more than 100 percent in fertilizer costs (mainly urea) and a nearly 90 percent increase in oil prices.

Post projects corn and rice production for Guatemala for the 2021/2022 marketing year.

Guatemala is close to being self-sufficient in white corn production, and harvested area continues growing. Guatemala is a net rice importer, and harvested area is shrinking.

Production for Marketing Year (MY) 2020 is forecast at 2.02 million metric tons (MT), 1 percent above MY2019: a slight increase in area but yields continue at a very low 2.05 MT per hectare (Ha).

According to new data and a recent crop assessment tour, Guatemala’s corn production is steadily dropping.

The Guatemalan economy relies on foreign exchange generated by the tourism sector, remittances from the United States and international trade, especially exports to the United States....

Guatemala announced that it will open World Trade Organization (WTO) tariff quotas in 2018 for 5,000 metric tons (MT) of black beans, 150,000 MT of yellow corn, 50,000 MT of white corn....

Guatemala has a de facto moratorium on genetically engineered (GE) crops in place, but producer groups continue to pressure the Ministry of Agriculture to allow for the commercialization of GE corn...

Guatemala does not allow commercialization of genetically engineered (GE) plants. There is a “de facto moratorium” in place.

Since the United States entered into the CAFTA-DR trade agreement, U.S. agricultural exports to the six CAFTA-DR countries have more than doubled.