USDA-FAS Says That PH Corn Imports May Triple Next Year

An international agency has said that the corn imports of the Philippines for 2023 could triple to an estimated 1.7 million metric tons (MMT) with lower tariffs triggering corn purchases.

The United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA-FAS) in Manila has predicted that the corn imports for the country would be an estimated 1.1 MMT higher compared to the 600,000 metric tons (MT) noted in the previous market year due to the Executive Order 171.

With EO 171, the tariffs on imported corn were lowered as part of the government’s attempt at securing a stable food supply and mitigating prices in light of the unstable global prices of commodities.

The EO would also mean that corn imports part of the minimum access volume (MAV) will be subject to a tariff of 5% while out-quota volume will be given a tariff rate of 15%. Currently, the corn MAV of the country is at 216, 940 MT.

The expected higher import volume comes after the domestic corn production is anticipated to decline by 444,000 MT year-on-year due to smaller harvest area and lower yield says the USDA-FAS Manila.

“FAS Manila forecasts MY 2022/23 corn production at 7.9 million MT, down 400,000 MT as compared to USDA Official, because of scant fertilizer application due to soaring fertilizer prices. The production decline is a combination of area harvested and yield declines,” they said in their report titled Global Agricultural Information Network (Gain).

USDA-FAS Manila also added that they expect the cord feed consumption to increase by 10.29% in the next year due to higher broiler output.

Source: Inquirer