September 28, 2007
 

Philippines' San Miguel keen on corn project to cut imports

The Philippines' San Miguel Corporation said Friday it hopes to narrow down its annual corn imports by setting up post-harvest facilities for the grain.

The company imports around 150,000 tonnes of corn every year, said company official Francisco Alejo.

"We hope this project will also help stabilize corn prices," he said.

The post-harvest facilities are expected to reduce post-harvest losses due to spoilage and spillage, which amount to up to 15 percent of the country's corn output.

Thursday, San Miguel signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the agriculture department signifying its intention to set up at least four grain centres in key corn producing provinces.

Each grain centre, which will provide shellers and dryers, will cost PHP35-40 million each.

Locations being considered by the company include the provinces of Isabela, Pangasinan, Bataan and Bukidnon.

The country's largest food and beverage conglomerate, SMC also has a feed and poultry division. Meanwhile, the agriculture department, for its part, plans to set up 50 post-harvest facilities around the country in the next three years to reduce post-harvest losses, said Agriculture Assistant Secretary Dennis Araullo, programme director for corn.

The department has set for this year a production target of 6.7-6.8 million tonnes, up from last year's 6.08 million tonnes. Corn is a major component in livestock and poultry feed.