Corn imports seen to reach 1.75 MMT

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s corn imports in the upcoming market year 2025-2026 may increase by 7.4 percent year-on-year to over 1.7 million metric tons (MT) to plug the shortfall in domestic output, an international agency said.

The US Department of Agriculture - Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS) in Manila estimated that Philippine corn imports would hit 1.75 million MT in market year 2025-2026, 120 million MT higher than the 1.63 MT estimated volume in the current market year 2024-2025.

The country’s corn market year begins in July and ends in June of the following year.

“(USDA-FAS) Manila forecasts an increase in corn imports to fill the supply gap, as demand for food and feed corn continues to outpace local production,” the agency said in a report.

The international agency projected that total corn demand in the next market year will inch up to 9.88 million MT from 9.8 million MT.

Meanwhile, local corn production will only increase by 50,000 MT to 8.2 million MT from 8.15 million MT during the same reference period, the USDA-FAS Manila added.

The USDA-FAS Manila noted that the marginal increase in corn production is caused by the minimal expansion in area harvested, which is estimated to grow by 0.4 percent year-on-year to 2.5 million hectares.

The slight increase in corn area and production is attributed to more favorable weather conditions, continued government, improved yields and increased demand for animal feed, according to USDA-FAS Manila.

Feed and residual use will still account for the majority of the country’s corn demand. The country’s corn requirement for feed and residual use is projected to increase to 7.75 million MT from 7.6 million MT.

The increase in feed corn consumption is driven by higher demand from broiler, layer, and pet food industries, USDA-FAS Manila said.