June 4, 2014
South Korea to increase corn silage and agricultural imports from Philippines
South Korean agriculture firms will increase their importation of corn silage and other animal feed stock from the Philippines, the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said Korean farmers'' cooperative Hapchon Livestock Cooperative Union and Philippine companies Benacorn Corporation and Ploughshares Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding for additional supply of corn silage and other animal feed stock during DA''s five-day investment mission in South Korea.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Edilberto del Luna, the national corn programme coordinator, said Hapchon has been sourcing about 1,000 tonnes of corn silage from the Philippines since 2013 against an actual demand of 7,000 tonnes a month. Local producers aim to ship an aggregate 2,000 to 3,000 tonnes per month by the third quarter this year.
The South Korean government six months ago approved the exportation of chicken by Bounty Fresh, Inc. from its plant in Pulilan, Bulacan. So far, the Philippines remains free from avian influenza that have affected nearby countries.
Alcala said several firms, including Japan Food Corp., TC Foods and Dawaon Corp., have also expressed interest in importing peking duck meat and fishery products from the Philippines.
In addition, the Korean Agriculture Ministry have also agreed to expand technical cooperation on food safety and sustainable production systems with the Philippines. Alcala met with South Korean Agriculture Minister Lee Dong-Phil to sign agreements for technical cooperation on food safety and production.
The agriculture secretary added that a memorandum of agreement would also be signed with the Korean Food Research Institute on traceability and food safety management. A traceability system allows the government and businesses to determine the source of a product or its ingredients affected by food safety issues, minimising potential health risks and its effects on trade.