African Swine Fever (ASF) wields adverse impact to Philippine’s corn production

The persistence of African Swine Fever (ASF) did not only affect the Philippines’ hog production. Corn production, too, is now reeling from the impact of the dreaded animal virus. In the latest Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report, US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) here in Manila (Post) said the country’s corn production is expected to fall 2.4 percent to 8.0 million metric tons (MT), resulting from reduced hog and broiler feed consumption and low farm gate prices. “Grain and feed prospects in MY [market year] 2021/2022 are challenged by the continued spread of ASF in main pork-producing areas of Luzon and in parts of the Visayas and Mindanao. The disease is fatal to pigs but poses no human health concerns,” FAS said. “The threat of ASF has driven some hog raisers to downsize operations, including two major piggeries on Luzon Island. Lower demand for hog feed (and lower corn farm gate prices) is likely to lead to lower corn planting ...