Public Storage Infrastructure and Grain Market Regulation in Mexico

Grain storage is vital for a country within a framework of food sovereignty and security. It helps stabilize markets, prices, and imbalances between supply and demand. In Mexico, public storage infrastructure is almost nonexistent, having been transferred to the private sector. The objective of this article is to analyze the relationship between public storage infrastructure and distribution problems that maize producers face in Mexico. A mixed-methods analysis procedure was implemented. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with small, medium, and large distributors, selected using the snowball sampling technique. The analysis identifies a positive association between references to storage infrastructure and distribution problems in the interview materials. Additionally, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was applied to the counts to strengthen the analysis. The results indicated a positive and significant relationship between the variables “storage infrastructure” and “distribution problems”, but also that, around the latter, there are others: lack of government support, price fixing, guaranteed price, insecurity, production costs, and inconveniences that require attention to stabilize the maize market. Inadequate infrastructure limits storage capacity, affects grain quality, increases costs, reduces producers’ bargaining power, and contributes to price volatility. It also impacts logistics, transportation, and marketing, especially in less developed regions. Evidence suggests that public storage infrastructure is a strategic element for food security; however, its concentration and predominantly private nature generate territorial inequalities.