Philippines weighing to use feed corn for bioethanol to lower fuel prices

Agriculture Assistant Secretary U-Nichols Manalo said, “We all know we are facing a fuel crisis, which is why we are again discussing the biofuel program. We are holding this consultation to gather your inputs and address your anxieties because, then again, the elephant in the room is the food-versus-fuel debate.”

A study from the University of the Philippines Los Baños proposed the use of excess yellow corn in ethanol production, particularly during the wet season, when drying facilities are limited and farm-gate prices decrease.

The Department of Energy noted that raising blend levels, such as E20 (20% bioethanol and 80% gasoline), could reduce pump prices by about USD 0.081/liter compared with the current E10 blend.

Caution from livestock industry groups

However, some industry groups, including the United Broiler Raisers Association, cautioned that diverting local corn to fuel production could force meat producers to depend more on imported feed ingredients.

The groups also said the swine industry is still recovering from African swine fever (ASF). The Philippines recorded its first ASF outbreak in 2019.

Representatives from the livestock and poultry sectors said domestic output meets only 62.7% of its yellow corn requirements, with the crop comprising roughly half of animal feed formulations.

The Philippine Association of Feed Millers Inc expressed its openness to incorporating distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a nutrient-dense byproduct of corn ethanol production, into animal feed mixes to help offset supply pressures.

Livestock groups claimed that DDGS would not fully compensate for a reduction in the direct corn supply.