Philippine wheat imports to reach record high in 2019

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines expects wheat imports to reach a record-high of 6.3 million metric tons this year amid continued strong demand.

In the latest report of the United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS), this year’s importation is five percent higher than the 5.98 million MT recorded last year.

“There is a strong demand for wheat products based on higher prices for rice and corn. The US continues to have strong, steady demand from traditional buyers such as Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines,” USDA said.

“This, combined with unusually large sales to more competitive markets, improves the outlook for US exports during the spring months,” it added.

Latest import data showed wheat imports climbed 31 percent in January to 172,096 MT.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, for his part, said the the livestock and poultry sectors have been growing significantly, thus, increasing the demand for feeds.

“It is not that the corn sector is not performing well, but this is an indication of a growing livestock and poultry industry,” he said.

There is no commercial wheat production in the Philippines and wheat is the main raw material for flour and feeds.

The Philippines sources 95 percent of its wheat requirements from the US. There are 20 flour mills in the country with an aggregate milling capacity of over five million MT.

Global wheat production is low this  month largely due to  smaller crops in Iraq and Kazakhstan, while global consumption is reduced mainly in India.

According to the USDA, global trade is nearly unchanged amid a plethora of offsetting changes to importers.

Exports are raised for the European Union but lowered for the US.

The US season-average farm price is unchanged at $5.15 per bushel.