PHL ready to export corn to Asian neighbors – Piñol

The Philippines is all set to export corn to its Asian neighbors, a historic first for the country, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said Thursday.

"For the first time in history, the Philippines is ready to export corn to neighboring countries in the region as corn harvests this year will breach the 5.6-million ton domestic requirement," Piñol said in a statement.

Citing the report of Assistant Secretary Federico Laciste, National Corn Program coordinator, the Agriculture chief said the Philippines’ yellow and white corn harvest for 2017 is expected to hit 8.1-million metric tons in spite of the series of natural calamities which hit the country recently, including the 7-month El Niño.
 
He added that the production of cassava, which is lumped with corn in the animal feeds category, is seen to reach 570,000 metric tons, contributing further in stabilizing the corn and animal feeds supply in the country.

The export of corn to Malaysia, Taiwan and South Korea could result in better prices for yellow corn and is expected to encourage farmers to plant more, the Cabinet official noted.

With this, Piñol noted that he will ask President Rodrigo Duterte during the Cabinet meeting on Monday to direct the National Food Authority (NFA) to amend its rules prohibiting the export of corn until the country doubles its corn production to 200 percent.
 
He said that Laciste even called the NFA rule regulating the export of corn, including rice, "unfair" and "unjust" to the Filipino farmers because the entry of imported corn to the country had been liberalized.
 
"This is the first time that the Philippines will achieve a 120% corn sufficiency," Piñol noted.
 
For 2016, in spite of the 7-month El Niño which ravaged the country's agricultural areas, the country posted a 7.5-million metric ton harvest for both yellow and white corn while cassava production reached 536,000 metric tons.
 
"Corn production is expected to be boosted further with the approval and adoption yesterday of the Solar-Powered Irrigation System based on the technical validation and recommendation of the DA's Central Agriculture and Fisheries Engineering Division," Piñol said.
 
"In yesterday's meeting at the Bureau of Plant Industry compound in Malate, Manila and attended by top officials of the Department of Agriculture, the adoption of drip irrigation using the Solar-Powered Irrigation System and the use of hybrid corn seeds were identified as priority measures in the National Corn Program," he added.
 
Irrigating corn fields, which is already being done in parts of Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley and Ilocos Region has proven to tremendously boost production per hectare which now has a national average of 4.7-MT per harvest, the department claimed.
 
"The country's corn productivity, however, is affected by the very low prices of corn during harvest season owing mainly to the lack of post-harvest facilities like dryers," Piñol emphasized. — Ted Cordero/VS, GMA News