The Mexican government Wednesday renewed an accord signed in January with local governments and the country's corn-tortillas sector, which aims to maintain tortilla prices at 8.5 pesos (0.77 U.S. dollars) per kilo.

The new agreement, which expires on Aug. 15, is vital for millions of Mexicans for whom the tortilla is their staple diet.

Earlier this year, a tortilla price-rise caused social unrest and President Felipe Calderon's government had to intervene to stabilize the price.

April 30 is the expiration date of the previous agreement signed on Jan. 18 to maintain the tortilla price for Mexico's 103 million inhabitants.

The price hike of corn and tortilla in Mexico coincided with greater international corn demand to produce ethanol, a project for which the United States has expressed interest in recent months.

Source: Xinhua