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Malaysia, Philippines to accept Indonesian corn
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Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman speaks to journalists after a post-Ramadan gathering in Jakarta on July 3. (JP/Stefani Ribka)
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griculture Minister Amran Sulaiman has said Malaysia and the Philippines will accept Indonesian corn exports of up to 3 million tons.
“Delegates from Malaysia and the Philippines have come here and said would they open the door to corn imports,” Amran told reporters after a post-Ramadan gathering on Monday.
Local corn production increased by 18.1 percent to 23.2 million tons in 2016, ministry data shows. The ministry projects the production of 25.2 million tons this year, leading to an oversupply.
(Read also: Indonesia targets to stop corn import this year)
Amran said harvest areas had increased significantly to 5 million hectares today from 3.7 million hectares in 2015, as a result of the expansion of cornfields and the integration of corn and oil palm plantations, which has been ongoing since 2016.
The government stopped giving corn import recommendations for the animal feed industry in July 2016 to support local farmers.
However, poultry farmers in Java recently complained of soaring corn prices since the halting of corn imports. Corn prices rose to more than Rp 4,000 (30 US cents) from Rp 3,500 per kilogram previously. (bbn)
