DA allows 200,000-MT yellow corn importation

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has agreed to allow the importation of 200,000 metric tons of corn through the National Food Authority for the use of poultry and hog growers and feedmillers.

An agreement was reached Wednesday by the DA, poultry and hog growers and feedmillers.

The importation subject to a 35 percent tariff, will be undertaken by the NFA using the Tax Expenditure Fund, similar to the arrangement previously extended to rice importers.

Poultry and hog growers, as well as feedmillers, would finance the importation. The 200,000 MT would arrive by March.

An alliance of poultry, egg and hog growers and raisers had asked the DA, through the NFA, to allow the duty-free importation of yellow corn to help the local poultry, egg, hog and feedmilling industry.

In a press conference, Gregorio San Diego, representing the broilers; Rene Eleria, representing the hog sector; Brenda Dimayuga, representing the Egg Board, and Ely Miranda, representing the feedmillers – warned of a serious shortage in the suppy of yellow corn for feed production.

San Diego and Eleria said the announced corn production of 6.9 million metric tons appears to be wrong as the poultry, hog and feedmilling sector are now scrounging around for yellow corn.

Of the 6.9 MMT corn production, only 4.7 MMT is yellow corn while 2.2 MMT is white corn.

San Diego and Eleria said they filed a request last Dec. 8 to import 300,000 tons of yellow corn, but this was rejected last week on the insistence that there is sufficient domestic corn production.

“But where is the corn?” poultry and hog growers and the feedmillers asked.