The Department of Agriculture has set a corn production of 4.017 million metric tons (MT) for the second half of this year.
The target assumes normal conditions, meaning there is adequate, but not excessive, rainfall for planting.
Targeted yellow corn production from July to December this year is 2.493 million MT, while the target for corn is 1.524 million MT.
Because of the drought being experienced in Regions I, II and III in Central Luzon, corn production in the first half was lower than targeted at 2.747 million MT, or 247,386 MT lower than target.
This has forced the Department of Agriculture to adjust downwards its full year corn production target from 6.916 million MT to 6.765 million MT.
The revised target represents an 11.2-percent increase over the 2006 production, down from the original target of a 13.37-percent increase.
Despite the lower corn production, local feed millers are not expected to resort to additional corn imports.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Dennis Araullo, who is also the director of the DA’s Ginintuang Masaganing Ani (GMA) program, said the prevailing high global price of corn makes its too expensive for local feed millers to resort to corn imports to meet a possible supply shortage.
Araullo said the current landed cost of corn is P13.20 per kilo compared to the prevailing local selling price of P11 to P12.20 per per kilo.
Feedmillers use yellow corn as major ingredient in the production of various animal feeds.
The feed milling industry was planning early this year to import an additional 200,000 MT or higher, depending on their requirement, in the second half of 2007.
The Philippine Association of Feedmillers (PAFMI) has already imported 200,000 MT of corn.
The DA had okayed a total importation of 400,000 MT this year.
The National Food Authority (NFA) conducted two separate bidding in April and May this year for the importation of initially 80,000 MT in April and an additional 120,000 MT in May, although delivery was in June and July.