MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Felipe Calderon signed an accord with businesses Thursday to curb soaring tortilla prices and protect Mexico's poor from speculative sellers and a surge in the cost of corn driven by the U.S. ethanol industry.
The corn tortilla is a staple of the Mexican diet and is especially crucial for the poor.
The accord limits tortilla prices to 8.50 pesos (78 cents) per kilogram and threatens to use existing laws to achieve prison sentences of as much as 10 years for company executives found to be hoarding corn. Some stores have been selling tortillas for as much as 10 pesos a kilogram.
