RP feedmillers interested in Indonesian corn

RP feedmillers interested in Indonesian corn

MANILA (Reuters): Philippine feedmillers, hog and poultry farmers are interested in buying Indonesian corn if prices are offered below U.S. or Chinese corn, an industry executive said yesterday.

"We received informal offers of Indonesian corn a month ago but we said we are waiting for the government's approval of our petition to import duty-free 300,000 tons of yellow corn this year," said the executive of a local feedmill.

"After we get the approval to import duty-free and the Indonesian price is right, then we will buy," he told Reuters, speaking anonymously.

The Philippines imposes a tariff of between 35 and 80 percent on corn imports. It has been buying corn, mostly from the U.S. and China, to meet a domestic shortage.

On Tuesday, traders in Jakarta said Indonesia has turned into a corn exporter from an importer as tumbling meat consumption this year has slashed demand for animal feed and left a surplus of corn.

Manila grains traders said U.S. corn was quoted yesterday at around $180 per ton C&F while Chinese corn was offered at $130 to $140 per ton C&F.

The Philippine executive said local corn importers had asked President Fidel Ramos if they can import on their own.

Imports made through state-trading firm National Food Authority (NFA) are usually given a lower tariff.

Rice market

Meanwhile, Philippines agriculture secretary Salvador Escudero said yesterday, Indonesia's deadly drought and economic crisis is constricting an already tight international rice market,

"Indonesia is importing 600,000 metric tons every month. That is a lot of supply being withdrawn from the international market," Escudero told reporters.

Manila is closely monitoring the situation because of its own drought problems brought on by the weather phenomenon, El Nio, which is expected to be followed by heavy flooding when the dry spell ends, he added.

The official said he had not obtained permission from President Fidel Ramos to import rice, with the country's inventory now adequate for 84 days, which he said was between eight and 10 percent higher than in the same period last year.

Indonesian authorities have said they would import 2.9 million tons of rice this year.

Thailand, the world's top rice exporter, announced this month that it will donate 5,000 tons of rice to Indonesia while it was reported in Tokyo that Jakarta had unofficially asked Japan to send half a million tons to help alleviate food shortages.