July 2, 2008

Indonesia's corn import to drop sharply, soymeal to rise 

Indonesia's corn imports are expected to fall sharply this year, reflecting higher domestic output, but soymeal imports may rise 5 percent, the chairman of the Indonesia Feedmillers' Association said on Tuesday (July 1, 2008).

Indonesia's corn imports, mostly from South America may drop to 400,000 tonnes from 650,000 tonnes last year, Boediarto Subijanto said.

The 400,000-tonne corn import was initially thought unnecessary but this would hedge against poor production in the second half of the year, Subijanto said.

In the face of high prices, some Indonesian feedmills have begun sourcing corn from India, which offers cheaper freight.

Indian corn costs US$300 per tonne (CIF) compared to US$430 a tonne for corn from Argentin .

Soymeal imports may be up slightly this year, rising to 2 million tonnes from 1.9 million  tonnes in 2007. The country does not produce soymeal.

Due to growing meat consumption particularly from the poultry sector, demand for animal feed may rise to 8 million tonnes this year, from an estimated 7.6 million tonnes in 2007, Subijanto said.

The poultry sector accounts for 80 percent of the demand for commercial feed.

Djajadi Gunawan, director of non-ruminant animal farming, said poultry production is expected to increase by 5-10 percent this year, from 1.1 billion birds in 2007, as the sector makes a strong recovery from previous bird flu outbreaks and consumers shed their reservations on eating chickens.