Feedmillers plan more corn imports this year

DAGUPAN, Pangasinan – The country’s P103-billion feedmilling industry is planning to import more corn this year to fill the projected corn supply deficit of 1.3 million metric tons (MT).

At the 4th National Corn Congress spearheaded by Philippine Maize Federation (Philmaize), Ricardo M. Pinca, vice-president of the Philippine Association of Feed Millers Inc. (Pafmi), said the requirement of feedmillers cannot be met by domestically-produced corn.

He said the country’s 697 feedmillers led by commercial millers and integrators such as San Miguel Corp., Cargill Philippines, Swift Foods, General Milling Corp., Universal Milling Corp., and Tyson Agro-Ventures, are all expanding their output to keep pace with growing demand.

"The industry has to cope with the growing demand both for food corn and corn as animal feeds. The Philippine population is growing at an annual rate of three percent, and demand for poultry and hogs are also increasing at almost the same level," he said.

As of April this year, corn imports exceeded the 216,000 MT allowed under minimum access volume (MAV) at 279,000 MT. MAV refers to the minimum volume that a specific commonidty each member country of the WTO has allowed to enter their domestic market at preferential or lower tariffs.

"The most prudent thing to do is to bring in imported corn while world market prices are stable," Pinca said, adding that "if we do not bring in corn, prices of chicken, other poultry products, pork and other hog products will continue to rise beyond the purchasing capacity of consumers."

Pinca pointed out that the feedmilling industry needs about 4.3 million MT of yellow corn, but based on government projections, local corn producers could only supply 3.5 million MT.

Last year, feedmillers produced 8.6 million MT of feeds which is about 172 million bags of 50 kilograms each. Corn comprise half of the total feed mill production, the rest are corn-substitutes such feed wheat and soybean meal.

To sustain feed milling operations, the country imported about 57,000 MT of corn, 1.6 million MT of soybean meal, 170,000 MT of soybean and 600,000 MT of feed wheat versus local yellow corn production of three million MT.