High demand for animal feeds to boost PHL wheat imports
tHe increase in demand for animal feeds and bread products could cause Philippine wheat imports in the current trade year to hit a record 6.3 million metric tons (mmt), according to the United States Department of agriculture (USDa).
in its monthly global grains market report, the USDa projected that total wheat exports to the Philippines in trade year (tY) 20182019 would expand by 5 percent to 6.3 mmt, from 5.987 mmt in tY 2017-2018.
the USDa also revised upward its wheat import forecast for the Philippines in the current tY. a wheat trade year for the Philippines runs from July until June of the following year.
available USDa data showed that the projected wheat imports of the Philippines in tY 2018-2019 is the biggest in history.
the USDa attributed this to local traders’ search for cheaper alternatives to rice and corn, as the prices of these commodities remain high.
Feed millers imports wheat to produce animal feeds. Flour millers buy milling wheat to supply the requirements of bakeries and other allied industries.
“Strong demand for wheat products [is] based on higher prices for rice and corn,” the USDa said in the report, published recently.
agriculture Secretary emmanuel F. Piñol said the possible in increase in imports is due to the continuous expansion of the local poultry and livestock sector.
“it is not that the corn sector is not performing well, but this is an indication of a growing livestock and poultry sector, which is growing by leaps and bounds,” Piñol told reporters in an interview on tuesday.
the USDa said the US would remain as the top supplier of wheat products to the Philippines. “the US continues to have strong, steady demand from traditional buyers such as Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.”
the country’s wheat imports in 2018 expanded by 26.8 percent to an all-time high of $1.51 billion, from $1.191 billion in 2017, data from the Philippine Statistics authority (PSa) showed.
PSa data also indicated that the US remained the country’s top source of wheat products in 2018, as it accounted for 40.7 percent of the total import volume.
the US exported $615.359 million worth of wheat products to the Philippines last year, which was 2.1 percent lower than the $628.558 million recorded in 2017.
Latest PSa data released on tuesday showed that the country’s wheat imports in January expanded by 31 percent to $172.096 million from last year’s $131.38 million.