DA to ban corn imports from China, Assam State of India

Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. is set to ban the importation of corn from China and Assam State of India, two countries infected with the bird flu virus.

The recommendation to ban corn imports from these two countries was made by Bureau of Animal Industry Director Jose Molina, Pete Ocampo, director of the Livestock Development Council and GMA Livestock Program, and Artemio M. Salazar, director of the GMA Corn Program.

The three agencies based their recommendation on the latest advisory of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which indicates that avian flu is prevalent in these countries.

China and India are major corn producers and exporters. The landed price of corn from China will be about P11 per kilo and P11.75 from India.

The FAO said there is suspicion that India’s Assam State is infected with the bird flu virus.

Meanwhile, rising prices of corn in the international market are making importers ambivalent about buying the commodity, even at duty-free rates.

"Nobody wants to hold the bag right now, and it is very likely that bidding for the tariff-free corn will fail because local corn prices are currently cheaper," Roderico R. Bioco, president of the Philippine Maize Inc. (Philmaize), said.

Two agencies attached to the Department of Agriculture (DA) – the Bureau of Animal Industry and the Livestock Development Council – recommended the ban on importation for the 350,000 metric tons (MT) of yellow corn

The National Food Authority (NFA), tasked by Malacañang to oversee the tariff-free importation of 350,000 metric tons (MT) of corn, will conduct a bidding on April 2.

Bioco said traders, including end-users such as feedmillers and poultry and livestock producers now prefer to buy local corn, which is now traded at P9.50 in Bulacan, where most feed mills are located. In Mindanao, corn is selling at an average of P10.50 per kilo.

At the current price of $180 to $185 per MT, corn from US and Argentina will reach Manila ports at about P12 per kilo.

In Asia, Bioco said corn from India will amount to P11.75 per kilo while corn from China will have a landed price of P11 per kilo. Thailand is the cheapest at P10 per kilo but like China, is infected with the avian flu virus.