2024-09-09 21:24:19
Feed manufacturers and producers of chicken, eggs and pigs in Ecuador have expressed growing concern over the notable speculative increase in corn prices in recent weeks.
According to a press release issued by these sectors, the cost of corn has experienced a significant increase, affecting both production costs and producers’ purchasing quotas.
Initially set at $16.50 per dry and clean quintal in the seller’s warehouse at the beginning of the harvest, the price of corn has climbed to reach $18.00 per quintal, according to reports in the document. This increase has been attributed to hoarding practices by merchants, who are filling their warehouses with grain, exacerbating the situation.
The industrialists of the sector have urgently requested the intervention of the Ministry of Agriculture to control the hoarding by means of inspections in the commercial collection centres. In addition, they urge a precise evaluation of the planted area and the production to be harvested, in order to determine whether there will be enough corn or whether a deficit is anticipated that could be greater than that of the previous year, which would require preventive measures before December.
On the other hand, producers have pointed out that, although there is corn available, the industry delayed making the necessary purchases. They claim that it was the middlemen who acquired the grain, since producers needed liquidity to begin the next planting.
Corn producer Nicolás Endara criticized industrialists for not acting on time in the purchase, which, according to him, has contributed to the current increase in the price of corn. He also warned about the risk of promoting licenses for the import of corn at a critical moment of national sowing, which could endanger the viability of local producers.
Aurelio Zea, another producer, acknowledged that the harvest was not satisfactory, but stressed the importance of accurately assessing the situation of corn already harvested and that being planted before considering any import measures.
Finally, Uniproh, the association of egg producers and poultry farmers, has held meetings with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture to address concerns about high corn prices, requesting concrete actions to control this escalation.
By: THE PRODUCER