Feed makers want wheat cap eased

Animal feed makers and livestock and poultry raisers have called on the government to ease measures to cap wheat imports, saying domestic maize production remains adequate for their consumption.

Pornsil Patcharintanakul, president of the Thai Feedmill Association, said after meeting officials at the Commerce Ministry yesterday, the association has proposed the government relax measures to cap wheat imports, which require importers to purchase domestic maize at a ratio of 1:3 as part of efforts to shore up domestic maize prices.

“We proposed the ministry cut the requirement to a 1:2 ratio to ease the impact from the maize shortage,” said Mr Pornsil. “We don’t want the government to scrap the requirement, as such a proposal would be unfair to farmers.”

The government in February decided to keep measures to cap wheat imports in a move to stabilise domestic maize and cassava prices. Imports of wheat for animal feed also require a permit, following a cabinet resolution last November.

Thanks to the government’s measures, domestically grown maize with 14.5% moisture content is priced at 9.50-9.60 baht per kg, compared with 5-6 baht per kg last year.

The price of fresh cassava root with 25% starch is quoted at 2.40-2.50 baht per kg, compared with 1.30-1.40 baht per kg in the same period last year.

Songsak Songserm-udomchai, president of the Crop Growers & Merchandisers Association, said Thailand is expected to produce 5.5 million tonnes of maize in the 2017-18 harvest season, on par with last year.

Given the yearly output, Thailand is expected to import 3 million tonnes of maize if demand amounts to 8.1 million tonnes as claimed by livestock-related operators, he said recently.

Thailand waived i mport tariffs on wheat in 2013 at t he request of animal feed producers. Before t he move, wheat prices were about 1-2 baht higher than maize.

Imports rose following the waiver, and wheat prices have been 1-2 baht lower than maize since 2014.

In 2013, Thailand imported about 1 million tonnes of wheat. The figure rose to 1.4 million in 2014, and 3.5 million tonnes in 2015 and 2016. Last year, government measures caused wheat imports to drop to 1.5 million tonnes.

Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said the ministry has already assigned a panel handling wheat imports, chaired by Boonyarit Kalayanamit, director-general of the Internal Trade Department, to study the proposal, with a decision likely to be made at a panel meeting on April 18.