By Mica Rosenberg

MEXICO CITY(Reuters) - Soaring consumption of high
fructose corn syrup in Mexico, aided by high sugar prices and
paltry local cane harvests, could accelerate next year and
boost sugar exports to the United States.

Mexican consumption of the corn-based sweetener, which is
cheaper than sugar, nearly doubled from 653,000 tonnes in the
2008/09 cycle to 1.2 million tonnes this crop year.

While that amounts to less than 20 percent of U.S.
consumption of high-fructose corn syrup, known as HFCS,
analysts see Mexican demand for corn syrup rising nearly 17
percent in 2010/11 to around 1.4 million tonnes.

A growing market for U.S. corn syrup in Mexico is welcome
news for the U.S. HFCS industry, which is battling a perception
among some American consumers that sugar is more healthy.

Many factories in Mexico, which have used only dry sugar
for years, are making the tonne-for-tonne conversion to use
liquid corn sweetener without big cost increases.

About half the HFCS consumed in Mexico is made locally --
Mexico produces 400,000 to 450,000 tonnes a year. The rest is
imported from the United States. (Graphic:
http://link.reuters.com/kag95n )

From 1995 to 2009, there was an eight-fold increase in U.S.
HFCS exports to Mexico, the U.S. Agriculture Department says.

Audrae Erickson, president of the U.S. Corn Refiners
Association, said the trend in Mexico is partly due to a move
in 2008 to relax trade barriers as part of the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which has slowly phased out
protections for sensitive products like corn and sugar.

The sharp increase in HFCS use in Mexico comes as the
country's sugar cane producers struggle to maintain their crop
in the face of bad weather and other problems. Last year, sugar
output hit its lowest level in a decade, forcing the government
to open a last-minute import quota.

In the coming season, Mexican sugar production is expected
to increase slightly to up to 5.1 million tonnes. This could
produce a glut that will allow it to boost sugar exports to the
United States.

Rene Martinez, an official at Mexico's sugar chamber, said
Mexico will send 900,000 tonnes of sugar north to the United
States by the end of the year.

BATTLING IMAGE PROBLEM

Kevin Combs, vice president of U.S. commodities brokerage
McKeany-Flavell, said Mexican demand for HFCS will stay strong
even if the country's own cane harvests improve.

"Mexico will still maintain relatively high (sugar) prices
and therefore the opportunity for HFCS in Mexico will continue
next year," Combs said.

In the United States, the HFCS industry is fighting a
perception among some consumers that corn sweeteners are more
likely than sugar to cause obesity.

Producers say HFCS is no more linked to health problems
than sugar. Still, some big bottlers like Pepsi are
experimenting with using more cane sweeteners, Combs said.

U.S. consumption of HFCS dropped 14 percent to around 7.3
million tonnes since 2002 while sugar demand during the same
period stayed basically flat, said Jack Roney, an official at
the American Sugar Alliance.

"U.S. corn sweetener producers are feeling relieved that
while they are losing market share in the U.S. they are gaining
market share in Mexico. That is a great solace," he said.

But if the opposite trend accelerates in Mexico, it may irk
some Mexican consumers nostalgic for sugar-sweetened versions
drinks like Coca-Cola they grew up drinking.

"I like soft drinks better in Mexico. I have read that
fructose is sweeter than sugar but it has a certain flavor that
I personally don't like," said Enrique Hernandez, an avid soda
drinker who lived a year in the United States.

Erickson and the corn refiners say most consumers cannot
tell the difference between the two flavors.

(Editing by Missy Ryan and David Gregorio)