Flat growth seen in food wheat imports this year

The Philippine Flour Millers Association (PAFMIL) is projecting a flat growth in food wheat imports this year because of low demand.

Ric Pinca, executive director of PAFMIL, said the industry imported 1.9 million metric tons of food wheat last year. This year Pinca said the industry would be happy to be able to import the same amount as it did last year.

Food wheat is the raw material for flour that is made into bread and other pastries.

Pinca noted that the demand for bread has been low due to limited buying capacity. Even the expected pick-up in food demand due to the ongoing election season has not materialized, Pinca said.

Likewise, he said the industry has to contend with flour from China which is competing with locally milled flour.

Pinca reported that flour importation more than doubled, from 22,000 metric tons (MT) in 2005 to 56,000 (MT) last year. More than half of these imports came from China, Pinca said.

The problem with Chinese flour, Pinca explained, is that it does not contain the government-mandated amount of vitamin A and iron.

In another development, the National Food Authority (NFA) yesterday conducted its bidding for the importation of 200,000 MT of food grade corn.

Six bidders showed up. They were Bunge, Cargill, Romar Commodities, Louis Dreyfus, Toepfer and Paritas.

The maximum subscribed import volume was pegged at 120,000 MT, lower than the allowed 200,000 MT.

As of press time, the NFA was still listing the bid offers.