LOCAL corn farmers will export corn for the first time with the shipment of at least 1,000 metric tons (MT) of corn to South Korea before the end of the year.

This after corn farmers entered into a corn supply agreement with the Korea Overseas Grains Investment Co. Ltd. for the trial shipment.

“Negotiations have been ongoing for months now, but it was only this week that the [company] has given its firm commitment to import corn from us,” said Philippine Maize Federation Inc. (Philmaize) president Roger Navarro in an interview.

Navarro disclosed that his group is still negotiating with the company for the price, but he said it will not be lower than the prevailing price in the international market. The initial volume will be shipped out to Korea in 40-foot container vans.

“We’re still haggling with them for a P16-per-kilogram price. At least, this price is better than the support price given by the National Food Authority [NFA],” he said.

Earlier, the NFA announced that it has increased its support price for yellow corn to P11.50 per kilogram. Philmaize, however, said this is still lower than the P13 per kilogram they are seeking from the food agency.

Navarro disclosed that apart from the trial shipment, the Korean firm has also committed to investment in postharvest facilities and bulk-handling terminal silos in Mindanao and Luzon to upgrade the capability of the local corn industry to export in bulk.

While Korea, which is a net importer of corn, is keen on importing more corn from the Philippines, it wants to make sure that the imports will be of good quality.

“The Koreans are cautious about the quality of their corn because of their experience with Indonesian traders. Their initial shipment was good but the subsequent shipments were not at par with what they initially exported,” said Navarro.

The Korean group visited Mindanao last weekend to assess the Philippine corn sector’s capacity to supply corn and negotiate for a possible corn supply agreement.

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