Poultry and swine raisers face higher prices of animal feeds after Typhoon Ompong destroyed P8 billion worth of corn harvests in Luzon, an industry player said Tuesday.
Unahco Inc., one of the country’s biggest animal nutrition companies, said while the company was still assessing the market response to price increases, several feed milling companies relayed their plans to implement staggered price hikes toward the end of the year.
“The expensive cost of raw material especially corn, to wit, is increasing the cost of feeds production. We are doing our best to lessen the increase as this will cost our stakeholders dearly, which are mostly small stakeholders and backyard raisers,” Unahco assistant vice president for marketing Clint Escondo said at the sidelines of the sponsorship agreement for the upcoming AgriLink, Foodlink, Aqualink Trade Exhibit.
Corn prices nearly doubled to P22 per kilogram this year from P13.50 a kilo last year, pushing feeds prices upwards. Corn accounts for about 40 percent of the total raw material for swine feeds.
Ompong left significant damage on standing corn crop that prompted Unahco to impose another P40 increase for 50-kilogram bag of swine feeds and P50 per 50-kg bag for poultry feeds.
The price hike for swine feeds was the fourth tranche this year, while that of poultry was its third.
The rising cost of raw materials especially corn, effectively raised feeds prices in several tranches in the first half.
Unahco raised concern that the rising cost of feeds would negatively impact hog production.
The P50-billion swine industry is composed mostly of small and backyard raisers at 65 percent. The remaining 35 percent are commercial producers.
Unahco said despite challenges in the industry, it managed to expand its production line in Bocaue, Bulacan by an additional 60 metric tons per hour on expanding demand.
The company has six feed mills strategically placed nationwide.
The company signed Tuesday another major sponsorship agreement with the Foundation for Resource Linkage and Development Inc. for AgriLink 2018.
AgriLink 2018 is set on Oct. 4 to 6 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.