December 4, 2012

Philippines not to export corn this year

Due to strong local demand for the crop, the Philippines has abandoned plans of exporting corn, at least for this year.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said on Monday (Dec 3) the requirement of the domestic market should be safeguarded first.

"Local corn is being bought by local users, so why bother exporting? I just want to stress that this government intends to prioritise the needs of the local market. We will not export just for the sake of exporting," Alcala told reporters.

He said, however, that there is no official decision yet on the proposal of corn farmers led by the Philippine Corn Federation (Philcorn) to export the product.

"I'm not saying that I've turned down their proposal. We are just waiting for the proper timing," Alcala said.

According to him, there are projections that the volume of corn in the international market will remain low in early 2013 and there will still be a market for any surplus corn that the Philippines will produce.

In August Philcorn asked the government to allow farmers to export about 400,000 tonnes so they can take advantage of good prices abroad. The group said Taiwan and South Korea are willing to buy from the Philippines because of their huge requirement for yellow corn.

International prices of corn went up after a drought hit the US, a major corn producer. This encouraged local corn farmers to make a pitch for exporting their produce.

The government, however, said that farmers cannot ship out their produce until the National Food Authority (NFA) certifies that there is a surplus of corn. The NFA cited Presidential Decree No. four as basis for postponing any decision on the request of corn farmers. It said a technical working group has been formed to study their request.