Country Scores - Enabling the Business of Agriculture

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1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433 USA

Chisako Fukuda
Media Inquiries

+1 (202) 473-9424

Mexico

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Region	Latin America & Caribbean
Income Group	Upper middle income
Population	129,163,276
GNI Per Capita (USD$)	8,610

Topic scores

Supplying Seed	69.54
Registering Fertilizer	59.54
Securing Water	60.00
Registering Machinery	50.00
Sustaining Livestock	81.67
Protecting Plant Health	60.00
Trading Food	84.90
Accessing Finance	90.00

Topic Score: 69.54 / 100	Country Score

Time to register a new cereal variety (days) 531

Question	Answer	Score
Time to register a new cereal variety (days)	531

Cost to register a new cereal variety (% of income per capita) 9.0

Question	Answer	Score
Cost to register a new cereal variety (% of income per capita)	9.0

Quality of seed regulation index (0-9) 6

Question	Answer	Score
If a variety is already registered in another country, does the law allow it to be automatically approved for commercialization?	Yes	1
Are distinctiveness, uniformity and stability (DUS) testing data from foreign authorities accepted?	Yes	1
In practice, does the variety release committee (VRC) meet on demand or at least once per growing season?	No	0
Is there a catalogue listing registered varieties?	Yes	1
Is the variety catalogue updated at least once per growing season?	No	0
Can private seed companies or third parties produce "early generation seed" from public varieties?	Yes	1
Can private seed companies or third parties (for example, private laboratories) certify seed?	Yes	1
Does the national seed authority publish a fee schedule for seed certification costs?	Yes	1
Does the law prescribe the procedural requirements to access plant genetic materials?	No	0

Details - Procedures to register a new cereal variety

Procedure No	Procedure
1	Apply for evaluation and registration of the new maize variety
2	Field Testing – Distinctness, Uniformity, and Stability (DUS) test
3	Technical Support Groups
4	Listing in National Catalog or Gazette

Additional data

Question	Answer	Score
Are the plant breeder’s rights protected?	Yes
What is the duration (in years) for plant breeder’s rights?	15
Are exceptions to plant breeder’s rights allowed?
a. Save and use on their own holding	Yes
b. Exchange	No
In practice, are companies accessing plant genetic materials from the genebank?	Yes
Can plant breeder’s rights be licensed to third parties for production and sale?	Yes
In practice, do public research institutes license public varieties to companies for domestic production and sale?	Yes
When importing germplasm for plant breeding, are firms exempt from government testing (other than phytosanitary one)?	Yes
Does the law address the registration of farmers’ or local varieties?	No
Must plant breeders retain records of reproductive materials and/or suppliers?
a. Reproductive materials	No
b. Suppliers	No
Must field or lab post-control tests be conducted on certified seed?	Both
Must the labels contain comprehensive information on seed?
a. Name and address of seed producer	Yes
b. Crop species	Yes
c. Class of seed	Yes
d. Net weight	No
e. Lot number	Yes
f. Certificate number	No
g. Germination (minimum %)	Yes
h. Purity (minimum %)	Yes
i. Year of production	No
j. Repacking or relabeling	No
k. Chemical treatment on the seed	Yes
Does the seed authority conduct random market inspections to detect fake seed?	No
Is there a penalty for the sale of mislabeled seed bags?	Yes

Question	Answer	Score
Time to register a new fertilizer product (days)	765

Question	Answer	Score
Cost to register a new fertilizer product (% of income per capita)	9.9

Question	Answer	Score
Must private companies register new chemical fertilizers to have them commercialized?	Yes	1
Is there a legal limit to the validity of fertilizer registration (in years)?	No	1
Is there an online national catalogue listing all registered fertilizers in your country?	Yes	1
Under a regional fertilizer registration agreement, is a fertilizer registered in another member country free from re-registration?	N/A	0
Must labels contain comprehensive information on fertilizer that is in the country’s official language and includes all the stipulated requirements?	Yes	1
Is there a maximum allowable content of heavy metals?	No	0

Procedure No	Procedure
1	Application for Registration
2	Lab sample analysis

Question	Answer	Score
Is a lab sample analysis required to register fertilizers?	Yes
Must organic fertilizer be registered before being sold?	Yes
Must firms obtain a permit to import fertilizer?	Yes
If yes, the permit is required for:	A blanket permit without a volume restriction
If an import permit is required, what is the time validity (in months)?	12
Does the law prohibit the sale of mislabeled fertilizer bags?	Yes
Does the law prohibit the sale of fertilizer from opened bags?	No

Question	Answer	Score
Must information about water uses be made publicly available?	Yes	1
Must results from ongoing water resource monitoring be made publicly available?	Yes	1
Must water users be represented in water resource management institutions?	Yes	1
Must water resource management plans be updated on a set schedule?	Yes	1
Must a priority order be set for allocation between different types of water uses?	Yes	1
Are water resource management plans binding on water allocation decisions?	Yes	1
Must there be a public notice and comment period before decisions on new major water extraction permits are made?	No	0
Is the length of the public notice and comment period defined?	No	0
Is there a quota or another mechanism to promote women’s participation in water management institutions?	No	0
Is the management of non-point sources of pollution supported?	No	0

Question	Answer	Score
Is a water inventory required?	Yes
Is there a timeline for water inventory updates?	Yes
Must the water inventory be public?	Yes
Is a water user registry required?	Yes
Is a water monitoring plan required?	Yes
Is there a timeline for water monitoring plan updates?	Yes
Must the government monitor water resources?	Yes
Must pollutant discharges to water resources be catalogued?	Yes
Are water management plans required?	Yes
Must water management plans be comprehensive (contain one or more required components such as planning for water use patterns, water risks)?	Yes
Must water management plans be developed through public consultation?	Yes
Must water quality criteria be adopted?	Yes
Must water quality objectives be set for water bodies?	Yes
Is a permit needed to abstract water from the environment?	Yes
If an abstraction permit is required, is the process described to obtain it?	Yes
If an abstraction permit is required, is the duration set?	Yes
If an abstraction permit is required, is permit renewal shorter or simpler?	Yes
Are the means of the public notice defined?	No
Can the government impose special measures for source protection in cases of water stress?	Yes
Is there an established minimum water level for environmental needs or flows?	Yes
Must water users keep records of the quantity of water abstracted?	Yes
Must certain activities occur at a minimum distance from water bodies?	No
Is a permit required to discharge pollutants into water bodies?	Yes
Is the process described to obtain a discharge permit?	Yes
Must the government inspect water-related compliance?	Yes
Are the competencies defined to inspect for water-related compliance?	Yes
Are offenses prescribed for water-related violations?	Yes
Are penalties prescribed for water-related violations?	Yes
Is water conservation promoted?	Yes
Is water use efficiency promoted?	Yes
Must users pay for the amount of water abstracted?	Yes
Must water abstraction charges be set?	Yes
Is the method to set the charges defined?	Yes
Is a collection agency for water abstraction charges identified?	Yes
Can water abstraction permits be transferred?	Yes
Can water abstraction permits be transferred separately from land?	Yes
Must the government be notified or approve abstraction permit transfers?	Yes
Is the process to transfer water abstraction permits defined?	Yes

Question	Answer	Score
Time to register a tractor (days)	30

Question	Answer	Score
Cost to register a tractor (% of income per capita)	0.0

Question	Answer	Score
Must firms obtain an import permit to import tractors?	Yes
If yes, the type of permit that is required:	Per shipment
If an import permit is required, what is the validity (in months)?	12
Must tractors must be registered once imported?	Yes
Must in-use tractors be regularly inspected for roadworthiness?	No
Must tractors be type approved before being commercialized?	No
Are tractor type approval reports from other countries legally recognized?	N/A
Are tractor standards in place?
a. International standards	Yes
b. National standards	Yes
What is the validity of the type approval if the tractor specifications do not change?	N/A
Must tractors be equipped with protective structures?
a. Fixed roll-over protective structures (ROPS)?	Yes
b. A falling object protective structure (FOPS)?	No

Question	Answer	Score
Must feed manufacturing facilities be approved before the start of operations?	No	0
Are inspections of in-use feed manufacturing facilities based on a risk assessment?	Yes	1
Must manufactured feed be labeled?	Yes	1
Must manufactured feed sold in bulk be accompanied by a document containing all mandatory labeling information?	Yes	1
Are feed manufacturers required to keep monitoring records?	Yes	1

Question	Answer	Score
Must the veterinary medicinal product (VMP) be registered to be commercialized (in non-emergency or normal situations)?	Yes	1
Is there a specific timeframe set by law for dossier revision?	Yes	1
Is there a list of officially registered VMPs on the website of the relevant regulatory authority?	Yes	1
Are generic versions of a registered brand-name VMP allowed by law?	Yes	1
Is there a specified proprietary time between registration of a generic and a registered brand-name VMP?	No	0
Must registration holders of VMPs have a mechanism to capture unexpected or dangerous reactions to marketed VMPs?	Yes	1

Question	Answer	Score
Must an official inspection occur prior to the approval of a feed manufacturing facility?	N/A
Is it specified what information must be on the label of manufactured feed?	N/A
Does the law specify the period monitoring records must be kept?	N/A
Are feed manufacturers required to keep reference samples of each batch or lot of manufactured feed produced?	N/A
Is it specified what information must be included on the label of a VMP?	N/A
Must packaging labels indicate whether a VMP must be labeled as prescription only (Rx) if relevant?	N/A
Must the registration holder submit to a relevant government authority reports of unexpected or dangerous reactions to marketed VMPs?	N/A

Question	Answer	Score
Can comprehensive information on plant pests and diseases that includes 1) pictures, 2) host information, 3) current status and 4) control methods, be obtained on a government website?	Yes	1
Must landowners/users report pest outbreaks to the government and are there any penalties associated with non-compliance?	No	0
Is there a publicly-available list of regulated quarantine pests?	Yes	1
Is there a designated government agency tasked with conducting pest risk analysis (PRA) for imports of plant products?	Yes	1
Are risk-based phytosanitary import inspections allowed?	No	0

Question	Answer	Score
Is there a list of regulated quarantine pests?	Yes
Are PRA reports available online?	Yes

Question	Answer	Score
Time to obtain agriculture-specific export documents (hours)	24

Question	Answer	Score
Cost to obtain agriculture-specific export documents (US$)	28

Question	Answer	Score
Are exporters of agricultural products free from the requirement to obtain trader-level licenses or memberships?	Yes	1
Can exporters apply for a phytosanitary certificate online?	Yes	1
Is there an ePhyto system in place to generate, issue and exchange certificates online?	No	0
Can phytosanitary certificates be issued on-site where goods are located?	Yes	1
Is the phytosanitary certificate fee publicly available?	Yes	1
Can a producer organization be established without a minimum capital requirement?	Yes	1
Can a woman legally sign a contract in the same way as a man?	Yes	1
Case study:
Export product	HS 07 : Edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers
Trading partner	United States

Procedure No	Procedure
1	Phytosanitary certificate

Question	Answer	Score
Is there a law regulating the operation of warehouse receipts?	Yes	1
Must warehouse operators provide any of the following performance guarantees?		1
a. File a bond with a regulator	No
b. Pay into an indemnity or guarantee fund to secure performance of obligations	Yes
c. Insure a warehouse or the stored goods against damage	Yes
Can warehouse receipts be negotiable?	Yes	1
Are electronic warehouse receipts legally recognized?	No	0
Must warehouse receipts contain information on security interests over the goods?	Yes	1

Question	Answer	Score
Can a woman legally open a bank account in the same way as a man?	Yes	1
Does the law prohibit discrimination by creditors on the basis of sex or gender?	Yes	1
Does the law allow licensed deposit-taking MFIs in your country?	Yes	1
Is there a legal framework regulating agent banking activities in your country?	Yes	1
Can non-financial institution businesses (i.e. businesses that do not hold any financial institution license) issue e-money in your country?	Yes	1

Question	Answer	Score
Does the law allow licensed deposit-taking MFIs?	Yes
Is there a minimum mandatory capital requirement to establish an MFI?	Yes
What is the mandatory capital adequacy ratio for MFIs?	8 %
What is the mandatory capital adequacy ratio for commercial banks?	8 %
What is the maximum size for a single loan that an MFI can grant? (in local currency)	3% of capital
After how many days in delinquency must MFIs fully provision an unsecured microfinance loan?	180
After how many days in delinquency must commercial banks fully provision an unsecured microfinance loan?	540
Must MFIs disclose their effective interest rate or the annual percentage rate to loan applicants?	Yes
Is there a mandatory deposit insurance system that MFIs must subscribe to?	Yes
Are financial cooperatives legally recognized?	Yes
Is there a minimum mandatory capital requirement to establish a financial cooperative?	Yes
Is there a minimum number of members required to establish a financial cooperative?	Yes
Are there safety standards for financial cooperatives?	Yes, prudential ratio
Can financial cooperatives merge?	Yes
Must financial cooperatives disclose their effective interest rate or the annual percentage rate to loan applicants?	Yes
Is there a mandatory deposit insurance system that financial cooperatives must subscribe to?	Yes
Can financial institutions hire an agent to provide financial services on their behalf?	Yes
Can both businesses and individuals operate as agents?	Yes
Must agents have real-time connectivity to a commercial bank?	Yes
What types of contracts are agents legally allowed to enter into with financial institutions?	Only non-exclusive contracts
Can agents open deposit accounts?	Yes
Can agents process loan applications?	No
Are financial institutions liable for the acts of commission and omission of agents?	Yes
Is electronic money (e-money) allowed?	Yes
Must customers’ funds received in exchange for e-money be ring-fenced?	Yes, 100% of the funds
Can non-banks issue e-money?	Yes
Is there a minimum mandatory capital requirement to obtain an e-money license?	No
Is interoperability with other e-money systems required to obtain a license?	Yes

CONTACT

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433 USA

Chisako Fukuda
Media Inquiries

+1 (202) 473-9424

Media Email