February 20, 2008

Philippine feedmillers seek duty-free soy and soymeal

Philippine's feedmillers are seeking a one-year suspension of import tariffs on soy and soy meal in an environment of rising international commodity prices, an industry executive said Wednesday (February 20, 2008).

The Philippine Association of Feed Millers, Inc. has asked the Tariff Commission to allow tariff-free soy and soy meal imports for at least one year, the association executive said on condition of anonymity.

The association had earlier submitted its request to the Department of Agriculture, but the department advised the group to petition the Tariff Commission since the country's soy production is not substantial, the executive added.

The request, if granted, would ease the surging cost of imported raw material for feedmilling, he said.

Current tariffs on soy and soymeal are pegged at 1 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

The landing cost of soymeal has risen 64 percent to around PHP23/kg from PHP14/kg around a year earlier.

Soymeal accounts for a fifth of livestock feed in the country.

The Philippines imports around 1.5 million tonnes of soymeal and around 300,000 tonnes of soy a year.