May 24, 2004

Philippine NFA May Cancel June 3 Tender For 340,000 MT Corn

The Philippine National Food Authority may cancel a June 3 tender to seeking up to 340,000 metric tons of corn unless industrial users formalize their intention to buy the grain, a senior official of the agency said Friday.
 
According to the official, all interested corn users who want to avail of corn import allocations must submit a letter of intent, or LOI, to the NFA on or before May 25.
 
However, out of the 340,000-ton import volume, the NFA has so far received LOIs covering only 1,000 tons, the official said.
 
The NFA, a state-owned grains trading firm, would be importing the corn at zero tariff on behalf of industrial users that include feedmillers, livestock and poultry raisers.
 
By law, only the NFA is allowed to import grains at zero tariff, thus the agency is facilitating the June 3 tender on behalf of industrial corn users.
 
The official said the June 3 tender will be shelved unless users make a commitment, through LOIs, to buy at least a total of 5,000 tons.
 
A corn trader said industrial corn users are not too keen on buying corn as the arrival period for the imports has been set by the NFA at no later than June this year.
 
The tight arrival schedule set by the NFA likely means possible origin of imports is limited to the Asian region, the trader said. However, industrial users are not interested in buying Asian corn due to concerns over quality, the trader added. Philippine millers had to fumigate corn from Vietnam earlier this month due to pest infestation.
 
The corn imports are intended to fill a local shortfall in supply.
 
Corn is a major ingredient in animal feeds.