Poultry, hog raisers decry stricter corn import rules

MANILA, Philippines — It ’s a double whammy for poultry and hog raisers as local corn prices spiked and the government issued stricter import regulations for the commodity.

The United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra) and the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines (ProPork) are both complaining about the surging prices of corn which will likely go up to P20 per kilogram in the next few weeks.

Corn, which serves as feed for hogs and poultry, comprises the highest cost in livestock production at 70 percent.

Before the typhoons, yellow corn was P14.50 per kilo.  It immediately went up to P16 after the calamities and is now selling for P17 in central Luzon and P18 in southern Luzon.

Prices should only be about P13.25 for farmers to earn fairly and for raisers to have a reasonable production cost.

Amid high corn prices, the Department of Agriculture set new guidelines for the application of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance for corn and wheat, a move which does not favor the livestock industry.

“Traders bought the corn during harvest at a low of P9 and they are now selling at P17 a kilo. Traders are the only ones benefiting from this,” ProPork president Edwin Chen told The STAR.

“The rationale is that corn traders with huge warehouses buy from farmers during harvest season at very low prices then wait until the DA issues an import ban and then sell at high prices,” he said.

Ubra president Elias Jose Inciong shared the same sentiment,  saying there will be difficulties down the line of the value chain as it will be more difficult to bring in the inputs.

“The timing is ridiculous and the damage has been done. Where is the sense there? And yet, they are making it easy to import the finished products,” Inciong told The STAR.

Inciong said if there is ample supply locally, then the stricter regulations are justified.

However, he said being strict on imports is not a good idea given the typhoons, concluded harvest and high prices.

“Who are you helping – no other than the importers of chicken and pork. This is double whammy to local agriculture. You are not helping the corn industry. You are also damaging the hog and poultry industry,” he said.

The country’s corn supply has been impacted by the consecutive typhoons especially in northern Luzon. While most of the corn produce has been harvested, some warehouses were flooded and damaged.

While production cost will likely increase, Inciong and Chen said this  would not be translated into the retail level.

“Pork prices are driven by law of supply and demand, as in all commodities, and not from grain prices. Hog farmers have to take the hit if feed prices increase,” Chen said.