The Philippines department of agriculture (DA) has signed a deal with South Korea allowing increased local corn and feedstock exports
Proceso Alcala, agriculture secretary of the Philippines, said that a five-day trade mission to South Korea yielded an MoU between South Korea’s Hapchon Livestock Cooperative Union and Filipino firms Benacorn Corp and Ploughshares Inc.
He added that the agreement provides for an increase in corn silage exports to 2,000 to 3,000 metric tons (MT) a month by Q3 2014 from the current 1,000MT.
“At present, this is the volume that we can commit,” Alcala said, adding that South Korea requires 7,000 MT of corn silage a month.
He said South Korean firms — Japan Food Corp, TC Foods and Dawon Corp — are also interested in importing Peking duck meat and fishery products from the Philippines.
“We will link them with local producers now that the Philippines has an advantage for such commodities. For Peking duck, the country can boast of its avian influenza-free status as a guarantee,” Alcala added.
To bolster the Philippines’ status as a disease-free source, the DA also is working on a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the Korea Food Research Institute (KFRI) to improve the traceability and food safety management of the Philippines products.
