Philippine feedmillers to import corn and wheat on low harvest

Feedmillers plan to import 1.55 million tonnes of feed wheat and 500,000 tonnes of corn to fill a shortfall in corn output for the year as drought continues to destroy corn crops in Luzon and in the Visayas.

An official of the Philippine Association of Feed Millers said the shortfall in corn production this year may compromise poultry and livestock output.

Last year, poultry farmers were forced to substitute feed wheat for a portion of the corn in their animal feeds, forcing to cull breeders that did not perform well.

For the first semester feedmillers already booked 550,000 tonnes of feed wheat, of which about half had already arrived and been stored in private warehouses. In 2009, feed wheat imports totalled 1.1 million tonnes.

The feed wheat was mostly contracted from Brazil and Ukraine at US$210-215 per tonne and with a 7% import tariff cheaper than corn.

The feedmillers also booked 50,000 tonnes of corn from Thailand for March-April delivery.

Meanwhile, the government estimates persisting dry spell may destroy as much as about 440,429 tonnes of corn.