July 31, 2012
 

Philippine feed millers to import more soymeal in Q4

The Philippine Association of Feed Millers Inc. (Pafmi) may purchase more soymeal meal in September to December despite the increase in the international price of the commodity.

According to Pafmi president Norman Ramos, there is no known substitute for the protein meal content of soymeal, thus the necessity to place fresh orders without specific volume at the moment.

Ramos said the price of soymeal in the international market is at its "all time high" at US$340 per tonne. Currently, soymeal sells at PHP30 per kilogram in Bulacan, from PHP22 (US$0.52) per kilo early this year.

Soymeal prices registered increases after the United States, the world's biggest supplier of the commodity, declared that its soy crop is at its worst since 1988 due to severe drought.

The US and Argentina are traditional sources of soymeal for the Philippines.

For 2012, feed millers imported as much as 842,677 tonnes of soymeal up to the month of August.

Of the 842,677 tonnes, the majority or 63 percent came from the US while the rest were shipped from Argentina.

Soymeal provides the protein component in animal feeds, normally comprising 20-25 percent of the feed formula. Corn, which takes up about 50-60 percent of the formula, provides the carbohydrate component of the feed.

Minerals, fibers, vitamins and enzymes provide the balance of the animal feed's formulation.

Animal feeds are those that are given to hogs, chicken, cattle, and horse.