December 17, 2003

Thai Government Approves Unlimited Soymeal Imports

Thailand has approved the purchase of an unlimited amount of soymeal imports and 54,700 metric tons of corn imports in 2004, a government official said on Wednesday.

The imports will fall under the World Trade Organization's minimum access volume, or MAV, allowance.

Imports of soymeal will be subjected to a 5% tariff, while corn imports will face a 20% tariff, unchanged from rates in 2003. In 2004, corn imports above the MAV will face a 73% tariff and a 180-baht a ton ($1=39.654) surcharge, compared with the current 73.8% import duty and THB180/ton surcharge, the official said.

In 2003, the Thai government allowed unlimited imports of soymeal and 56,000 tons of corn imports.

Each year, Thailand imports around 1 million tons of soymeal as feed for the livestock industry. The domestic consumption of livestock is estimated at 2.6 million tons in 2003.

Thailand hasn't imported much corn as it is self-sufficient, with harvests of around 4.1 million to 4.2 million tons of corn a year. Corn is also used to produce animal feed for the livestock industry.