Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the relevant executive order, increasing the country’s Minimum Access Volume (MAV) for corn by 280,000 tonnes.
According to Marcos, the additional imports are expected to supplement domestic corn supplies and ensure adequate raw material availability for the livestock, poultry and feed milling industries.
The authorities stress that insufficient corn supply could lead to further increases in feed and production costs, which in turn could affect retail prices for pork and poultry products.
The Philippine Department of Agriculture had previously proposed expanding the corn MAV quota to help pork and poultry producers contain potential increases in feed costs amid the threat of El Niño.
The decision comes amid accelerating inflation in the country. Annual inflation rose to 7.2% in September from 6.1% in August, driven mainly by higher prices for rice, electricity, fuel and transport services.
Last week, the Philippine central bank also raised its key interest rate by 50 basis points to 5.5% in an effort to curb high inflation.
PigUA.info, based on materials from thepigsite.com