Tortilla prices are high these days in Guatemala. They have doubled in the last three years, as a reaction to the steep rise in the prices of corn that the country needs to import to meet internal consumption. The explanation for the price fluctuation works as a fable of the effects of globalisation and the interconnectedness of markets on the poor segments of the world population, especially in countries which are more vulnerable to the changing patterns of world economy and the actions of its leading agents.

Guatemala, in fact, suffered twice the pressures of globalisation related to corn. At one time the country was nearly self-sufficient in its production of the cereal. In the 1990s, however, its producers were no longer able to compete with the exports of American corn, whose production was subsidised by the US government. The result was a production drop of over 30 per cent over the span of a decade. In recent years however, the availability of cheap corn imports has been dramatically reduced, mainly due to changes to agricultural and economic policy in the Western affluent countries on the use of corn and other food crops. To illustrate, recent laws in the United States and Europe, driven by the ecological imperative of progressively reducing carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, mandated an increase in the supply of greener propellants such as biofuel, to be blended with the regular vehicle fuel supplies. Approximately 40 per cent of American corn production is now directed towards the production of biofuels.

Emphasis on the use of corn for biofuel production in wealthy countries has led to two significant consequences for Guatemala. First, a reduction in availability of foreign corn has meant that import prices have risen dramatically, with a similar rise in prices also affecting sugarcane imports.