CHAPULCO, MEXICO — A blockade of a Mexican railway connecting the Port of Veracruz to Central Mexico has led to a backlog of grain, according to the Oct. 10 Grain Transportation Report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Residents of Chapulco have blocked the railway since Sept. 24 in protest of a past derailment that damaged the community’s water supply.
The Port of Veracruz is the largest entry point for grain imports by ocean to Mexico, the USDA said. From January to August, 31% of US grain exports to Mexico, totaling 6.8 million tonnes, were shipped by ocean from New Orleans, Louisiana, US, and Houston, Texas, US.
Some Mexican grain importers are substituting trucking for rail, it said.
“The blockade on Ferrorsur coincides with lingering challenges for cross-border US grain exports to Mexico,” the USDA said.
