November 6, 2007

Philippine approves November tender for 270,000 tonnes corn

The Philippine Department of Agriculture has agreed to a request by livestock and poultry raisers and feedmillers for the import of up to 270,000 tonnes of corn duty free, a senior agency official said Monday (November 5, 2007).

According to Agriculture Assistant Secretary Dennis Araullo, state grains firm National Food Authority will finalise a schedule for the tender - to be conducted within the month - when local farmers have agreed the import dates.

End-users of corn want 70,000 tonnes delivered in December, and 200,000 tonnes in January and February.

Although the government would approv a December to January arrival, local farmers may have a concern regarding a February arrival since there would be a major crop harvest in March, Araullo said.

The NFA has been tasked by the agriculture department to buy zero-duty corn imports on behalf of local end-users. The current import tariff for corn is 35 percent.