September 9, 2009

The Philippines, raring to export corn for the first time ever to trim excess supply, is considering selling the commodity to India and Kenya, a top official said on Tuesday (Sep 8).

Socio-economic Planning Secretary Augusto Santos said that the option of being able to sell corn to Kenya should be considered and at the same time monitor the situation in India, as half of the country suffers from drought and demand is about 10 million tonnes.

According to Philippine Maize Federation Inc. (PhilMaize), the Philippines is looking at exporting surplus corn to stabilise domestic prices which have fallen to their lowest levels since 2001.

The group estimates there is excess corn of around 800,000 tonnes this year after the government allowed imports of more than one million tonne of feed wheat at zero tariff to aid the local feed sector that was hit by high corn prices earlier this year.

The Philippines said last month it was ready to ship up to 150,000 tonnes of corn to Vietnam which is planning to buy between 500,000 and 800,000 tonnes of corn after selling millions of tonnes of rice to Manila.

Santos said the government can start off talks with Kenya by donating a small volume of corn to that country.

With 98 percent self-sufficiency, the Philippines produces just about enough corn to meet its needs.

Manila expects corn output to rise 2.3 percent to 7.09 million tonnes this year on increased crop land and yield, with production forecast to recover in the second half after a 2.3-percent drop in January-June.