December 10, 2008
Philippine corn prices seen to drop next year
The president of Cornworld Breeding Systems Corp., Benito M. Domingo, said local corn prices may drop below 11.50 Philippines Pesos (US$0.23) per kilogramme next year as demand for corn for feed production and ethanol production tapers off.
Domingo said there are two factors that affected the industry: One is the recent decision of the government to lower the tariff of feed wheat, and the other is the global drop in crude oil prices.
He is also expecting a slack year in 2009 which may discourage local farmers from cultivating more corn.
With the removal of the tariff, local feed manufacturers are shifting back to the use of cheaper feed wheat as their primary ingredient in their feed products instead of using local corn.
Crude oil prices dropped substantially due to the global economic turmoil, replacing ethanol production with easily affordable gas and diesel products.