May 17, 2007

 

Philippines may buy zero-duty corn in October
 

 

Philippine feed millers, poultry and livestock raisers will have to wait until around October this year to buy corn at zero tariff, a senior official of the National Food Authority said Thursday.

 

A buy tender conducted Thursday by the NFA on behalf of domestic end-users for 79,000 tonnes of corn was declared a failure, as end-users found the offered prices too high.

 

"After looking at the offers, prospective buyers withdrew their intentions to buy. The prices were not acceptable to them," said NFA's deputy administrator Ludovico Jarina.

 

The lowest offer was US$223.69/tonne, cost and freight basis, for Argentine corn made by trading firm Louis Dreyfus.

 

According to Jarina, domestic end-users will have the chance to buy cheaper corn around October this year, as harvesting of the country's second corn crop will be completed in September.

 

The NFA has standby authority to bring in 200,000 tonnes of corn at zero-tariff during the second half of the year.

 

But he added that any decision by the NFA to hold another tender for zero-duty corn would depend on the assessment of the government interagency committee on rice and corn, or IAC. The current duty on corn is pegged at 35 percent.

 

"The NFA council's approval of a tender is conditional, depending on the assessment of the IAC, which will conduct a review on the country's rice and corn situation in June," he said.

 

Last month, the NFA bought a combined 120,000 tonnes of Argentine corn at zero-tariff from trading houses Cargill and Toepfer.

 

Toepfer will supply 60,000 tonnes at US$215.50/tonne, on a cost and freight basis, while Cargill will supply another 60,000 tonnes at US$215.48/tonne, C&F, for June and July arrival respectively.

 

The imports are intended to ensure availability of corn for domestic end-users, given the prevailing high price of the grain in the international market.

 

Corn is a major component of livestock and poultry feeds.