THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it has urged the National Food Authority (NFA) to allow the export of corn, amid the steep decline in corn prices in the Philippines.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said during a hearing at the House of Representatives that he has proposed the export of corn to help farmers cope with the fall in local corn prices.
Alcala made the statement after Rep. Randolph Ting of the Third District of Cagayan said quizzed the agency about the possible causes of the decline in local corn prices. Ting added that local farmers are complaining that there are no takers for their produce.
“We hope the NFA can give us the go signal to export corn. Our corn has better quality than those we import. I think [the export of corn] is the complete and permanent solution to this problem,” Alcala said.
Corn farmers asked the government to allow them to ship out corn to other countries in 2012. Under Presidential Decree 4, producers could not export corn until the NFA Council certifies that there is a surplus.
As for the decline in corn prices, Alcala said this may be due to the “excessive” importation of feed wheat, which is used by feed manufacturers as a substitute for yellow corn.
“Because of our free-trade agreements, the government cannot order feed mills to stop the importation of feed wheat,” he said.
Alcala said feed-wheat imports as of September have reached 1.2 million metric tons (MMT). The Philippines slaps a 7-percent tariff on imported feed wheat.
In the meantime, Ting said the NFA could consider increasing its procurement of corn from local farmers. “We are asking the NFA to start procuring yellow corn to help farmers faced with the current problem of low prices of corn,” he said.
The NFA is under the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization (OPFSAM). It used to be an attached agency of the DA but it was transferred to OPFSAM last year.
Meanwhile, Agriculture UnderSecretary Jose C. Reaño said corn farmers are already shifting to cassava planting due to the decline in local corn prices.
“There are a lot of farmers who are now planting cassava because of a new variety from Thailand, which can yield 60 tons per hectare. They choose to plant cassava because the income is higher and it only takes one year to grow,” Reaño said.