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Ministry eyes zero corn imports for feed industry
After reducing corn imports by 60 percent for the feed industry last year, the government aims for zero imports this year on the back of an expansion of plantations and the use of newly invented “Nasa 29” seeds
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fter reducing corn imports by 60 percent for the feed industry last year, the government aims for zero imports this year on the back of an expansion of plantations and the use of newly invented “Nasa 29” seeds.
The Agriculture Ministry aims to increase corn production to 25.2 million tons, up 8.6 percent from the 23.2 million tons produced last year, to suffice national demand at around 20 million tons, including for the feed
industry.
“With the increase in production, the ministry is upbeat about the target of zero imports,” said Agung Hendriadi, head of public relations at the ministry, to The Jakarta Post recently.
The ministry has allocated Rp 2.4 trillion (US$179.37 million) this year to assist farmers in opening up another 3 million hectares of new corn plantations, including 1 million ha on oil palm and rubber estates in Sumatra and Kalimantan.
The budget translates to Rp 800,000 worth of assistance for each hectare, including with the distribution of Nasa 29 hybrid twin corn seeds, new variants invented by the ministry that can double harvest yields.
The 3 million ha of new plantations will add to the existing 6.2 million ha of corn plantations that currently yield around 5.3 tons of corn per hectare, said Kasdi Subagyono, the ministry’s head of planning.
To anticipate the extra production, feed millers are building post-harvest infrastructure such as silos, warehouses and dryers so that the crops will not be useless. Only corn with water content of less than 15 percent can be used for the industry.
“Please don’t blame us anymore if local production cannot be absorbed again [like last year] because we’re building the infrastructure [to absorb the crops] now,” said Desianto Budi Utomo, chairman of the Indonesian Feed Millers Association (GPMT), via phone recently.
Last year, corn production rose significantly by 18.36 percent to 23.2 million tons from 19.6 million tons in 2015.
However, as Desianto mentioned, much of it was wasted as the corn harvests were not dry enough, with some harvests containing 22 percent water.
“Infrastructure in Java is okay but the infrastructure in Nusa Tenggara and Sulawesi is not. There aren’t enough drying systems so that by the time the corn reaches Java, the quality isn’t good,” he said.
The low quality corn in Nusa Tenggara and Sulawesi has led to a raw material shortage for the industry that imports wheat as a substitution. Total wheat import for various uses, including the feed industry, for the
January to June period last year increased by 41.89 percent to 10.5 million tons in 2016 from 7.4 million tons in 2015, data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) shows.
Feed millers estimate that the industry will need 12.85 million tons of corn this year, 9.25 million tons to produce feed and another 3.6 million tons for feed self-mixed by chicken husbandry smallholders. That translates to 1.1 million tons of capacity per month.
Thailand-based poultry giant Charoen Pokphand plans to add silos and dryers in Cirebon, West Java, Semarang, Central Java, and Gorontalo next year.
South Korean CJ Group, meanwhile, plans to open feed mills and silos in Semarang and South Kalimantan, silos and dryers in Medan, North Sumatra, and a dryer in Lampung.
Locally-based Japfa Comfeed Group reports that it already has 14 feed mills, silos with 304,200 tons of storage capacity, warehouses to store 86,500 tons, 20 dryers to dry 10,000 tons of corns daily and two depots to receive 3,000 tons across the country.
The firm plans to add silos with total capacity of 42,000 tons total in six locations and has appointed Vasham to help corn farmers in Lampung.
