August 4, 2008
Philippine corn farmers to seek higher support price
Philippine corn farmers will continue to press for a higher government support price of PHP13 a kilogramme amid rising fertilizer costs, an industry executive said Friday (August 1).
This follows a recommendation by the Inter-Agency Committee on Rice and Corn to peg the government support price for corn at PHP11/kg. The state-owned National Food Authority's support price for corn currently stands at only PHP7.50/kg.
"We're going to ask the government to reconsider our request. Without the proper support from the government, it would be difficult to encourage farmers to continue planting," said an official of Philippine Maize Federation Inc., an organization comprising corn producers.
The request for a higher support price follows sharp increases in the price of petroleum-based fertilizer, currently at PHP2,000 per 20-kilogramme bag against PHP1,200 per bag a year earlier.
To recover their higher cost of production, the group is now considering exporting some of their produce to nearby Taiwan and South Korea, said the official.
"We want to try to export. We're considering a volume of 30,000 tonnes," the official said, adding they can sell it in the export market at around PHP16/kg.
"We know corn supply is critical to our poultry and livestock industries. But the government needs to balance all the interests of various sectors. They need to closely look at the corn market," said the official.
Earlier this week, the agriculture department said the surging cost of fertilizer could deter farmers from planting the crop in the second half of the year. This could keep the country from achieving its output target for 2008.
Philippines' corn output this year could reach only 6.9 million to 7.2 million tonnes, lower from the department's production target of 7.35 million tonnes, said assistant secretary Dennis Araullo, programme director for corn.
According to Araullo, about 10 to 30 percent of the country's planting area may not be planted to corn in the second half of the year following the steep increase in fertilizer prices.
Corn output in the first half of the year reached 3.29 million tonnes, up almost 20 percent from 2.75 million tonnes a year earlier.
US$1 = PHP44.465 as of August 4, 2008