Domestic corn prices in the Philippines rose by about 5.1% from $245-$250/mt CFR last week to $255-$265/mt CFR Wednesday after two feedwheat cargoes due to arrive in Subic Bay got delayed, prompting feed buyers to substitute with local corn, market sources said.
The ship Port Dalian carrying 55,000 mt of feedwheat ran aground two weeks ago at the Suez Canal, according to a Philippine source familiar with the situation. A second feedwheat cargo faced import permit complications resulting in loading delays in the Black Sea, though details were not available, the source added.
One source said that the second cargo's import permits complications were linked to the African Swine Fever, or ASF-free certification as Philippines is more stringent on raw materials entering into the country.
Several months ago, Philippines imposed rules directing all raw material imports to fulfill a 20-day quarantine in bonded warehouses, if the cargo is loaded from ASF-infected regions.
All cargoes are required to attain permits from the Bureau of Animal Industry to certify that the product is ASF-free. The additional certification is adding more costs to the price of corn, sources said.
One source estimated the addition of an extra $1/mt premium to the cost of raw materials.
There are no ASF cases reported in the Philippines but the local media reported that the Philippine Department of Agriculture, or DA, confirmed that pigs were culled in Luzon island.
The DA ordered the culling of hogs within a one-km radius of infected farms, the Philippine News Agency's website reported. It also said that three areas in Rodriguez, Rizal, are under quarantine due to a "possible major economic swine disease" and the DA is expecting results from a foreign laboratory in Europe in two weeks.
Further confirmation would be needed from a recognized foreign reference laboratory in Europe, it added.
