Mr Pornsil, centre left, says the planned import of 1 million tonnes of US corn will not affect local corn prices or farmers, as it follows the 3:1 ratio measure.
The Federation of Livestock and Aquaculture joined with other livestock associations to declare planned US corn imports will not harm local corn farmers, instead reducing production costs for the livestock industry, which is facing a shortage of roughly 800,000 tonnes of corn required for feed production.Pornsil Patcharintanakul, president of the Thai Feed Mill Association and secretary-general of the Federation of Livestock and Aquaculture, said the livestock sector depends on imported feed ingredients. The country requires about 9 million tonnes of feed corn annually, but produces only 5 million tonnes domestically, resulting in a shortfall of 4 million tonnes.
Each year, roughly 3.2 million tonnes are imported, including 1.5 million tonnes of corn from neighbouring countries and 1.7 million tonnes of wheat. Despite these imports, a deficit of about 800,000 tonnes remains, he said.
Thailand now requires burn-free certification for all feed corn and wheat imports to curb cross-border air pollution, which means corn imports from Myanmar are expected to fall to 1.1 million tonnes this year, said Mr Pornsil.
