March 5, 2009

Philippine imports of feed wheat this year have so far reached around 500,000 tonnes, mostly from Ukraine, feed milling industry executives said Wednesday (March 4).

Of this volume, 187,000 tonnes have so far arrived in the country, said an official at a grain trading firm.

Around 170,000 tonnes are expected to arrive within the month, the official said, adding contract prices for the imports ranged between US$130 to US$200/ton, cost and freight basis.

The rest is for arrival within the first half of the year.

Another feed milling executive said wheat imports are likely to taper off in the coming months as the local harvest of corn has already started.

"Most of us have booked corn and wheat supplies up to July, so we can afford to go slow on our purchases. Also, local corn has begun arriving in the market," said the executive.

Industry executives earlier said the country's wheat imports could reach 1 million tonnes, following tight supply of local corn early in the year.

From 2001 to 2006, Philippine imports of feed wheat hovered around 1.5 million tonnes. Following a steady increase in global prices, imports fell to 400,000 tonnes in 2007.

Corn and wheat can be substituted for each other as a major component in livestock and poultry feeds.