Feed millers seek DA okay for importation of 100,000-MT corn

MANILA, Philippines - Feed millers are seeking government approval for imports of 100,000 tons of yellow corn between January and March to support the requirements of the livestock industry after typhoons damaged local crops, official documents showed. 

The Philippine Association of Feed Millers Inc. (PAFMI) said in an Oct. 26 letter to Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, a copy of which was obtained by reporters, that two strong typhoons in late September and early October had damaged the quality of corn crops, pushing up local prices.

Domestic corn supply may further tighten next year, the group also said, as industry surveys showed corn farmers may delay planting following the typhoons.

“Although there are planned importations of feed wheat, this will not substitute for corn requirements of the poultry industry,” Pafmi president Norman Santos said in the letter.

“We are cognizant of the expected harvest of local corn and recommend the imports arrive only between the months of January (and) March,” Santos said. 

“We feel this will complement the current supply of local corn and maintain prices (at) reasonable levels,” he said. 

The planned corn imports would account for only 13 percent of the total requirement of the industry estimated for the first quarter of 2012, and should not adversely affect demand and price of local corn, Santos said.

The industry group said corn crops submerged in floods for several days after the typhoons had higher moisture content, with benchmark local prices rising by more than 20 percent following the typhoons.

In an interview with reporters last month, Santos said the industry group was looking at importing both corn and feed wheat in 2012 to meet the requirements of its members.

The Southeast Asian country did not import corn this year but bought around one million tons of feed wheat mainly from Australia.

In an initial crop damage report released after the two typhoons battered northern Philippine provinces, the Agriculture department had said corn losses hit 34,839 tons, or 2.25 percent of the target output of 1.55 million tons in the December quarter.

On Monday, the department said the northern Cagayan Valley region, a major rice- and corn-growing area, was still expecting bumper harvests of rice and corn despite the typhoon damage.