21/04/2008
With surging global feed prices, animal feed producers in Thailand are asking the Commerce Ministry to allow them to raise prices by 10-20% of maize, soybean meal, fishmeal, rice bran and broken milled rice that have now reached an all-time high worldwide.
According to Pornsilp Patcharintanakul, president of the Thai Feed Mill Association, domestic maize prices have risen 46% since 2003, while rice bran has shot up more than 90% since 2003.
Milled rice prices this year have risen by more than 118% and soybean meal became 79% more expensive.
Pornsil added that that the government had promised earlier to waive the 4% import tariff on soybean meal but has yet to do so.
Feed makers have also asked for tariff cuts on substitute raw materials – sunflower meal, coconut meal and soybean husks – that have been controlled by the government since 2004, and "are not compatible with the rising prices of raw materials and as a consequence are distorting the market mechanism."
"We don't want to see a monopoly which has been managed by the government through its price-control measures since 2004. The controls are against the market trend and will damage market mechanisms," Pornsilp said.
He emphasised that manufacturers insist on producing high-quality feed meal in spite of the increasing cost of major raw materials.
