Agricultural sectors in Mexico and Argentina face pest and regulatory threats

Agricultural producers in Mexico and Argentina are facing challenges related to pest control and regulatory changes. In Mexico’s Papaloapan Basin, specifically in Cosamaloapan and Tres Valles, the presence of the ‘Reynosa bug’ and mealybugs has been detected in sugarcane fields. These pests sap nutrients from the plants, causing yellowing and premature foliage drying. Producers are being urged to maintain clean fields and use entomopathogenic fungi or specific insecticides to prevent yield and quality losses.

In Argentina, the government has deregulated several phytosanitary norms that previously protected the provinces of Salta and Jujuy from imported banana pests. Resolution 114/2026 repealed eight resolutions dating from 1992 to 2013. While the government maintains that these updates modernize oversight through digital traceability, local producers and the Ecas cooperative have expressed concern that the move could expose domestic crops to critical pests and undermine local production efforts.