HOG raisers have warned that extending the validity of the government’s minimum access volume plus (MAV+) program for pork would “slow down” their repopulation efforts as they face further competition from imported pork products.
Leaders of the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. (NFHFI) and Federation of Pork Producers Inc. (ProPork) lamented that extending the pork MAV+ will not make any differences in the market prices, noting that there has been no “tangible reduction” on prevailing pork prices today.
“The plan to extend pork MAV+ at a lower tariff until December 2022 will still not solve the inflation rate. Since issuance of those EOs [Executive Orders], there was no tangible reduction of pork retail prices as an effect of those EOs 133 and 134,” ProPork President Rolando Tambago told the BusinessMirror.
“What happened instead was it gave further sufferings for local swine farmers [with] foregone revenues of at least P3.7 billion for the government. And it did not bring down the retail price of pork in areas where there are pork shortages,” Tambago added.
Tambago pointed out that cold storages are already brimming with frozen imported pork. The country’s frozen pork inventory
as of December 6 expanded to 77,373.74 metric tons (MT) as more imports arrived in the country, according to the latest data from the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS).
“That should be enough to bring down retail prices in those areas—why is it not happening? They would say, there are restrictions? Restrictions on display of imported frozen meat on wet markets are there precisely to ensure safety of consumers against food-borne diseases,” he said.
Chester Warren Y. Tan, president of NFHFI pointed out that extending the MAV+ validity will just “slow down” the repopulation efforts of local hog raisers. Tan emphasized that local hog raisers, both back-yard and commercial, have started to repopulate their farms even without financial support from the government.
“DOF is not looking at the real ground situation. Their recommendation is not pro-local farmers. Even if they flood the market with imported pork it will not change the situation,” Tan told the BusinessMirror.
“They have to check the history and what happened this whole year. The key is to convince the local producers to produce more and eventually supply will be stable,” Tan added.
Tambago concurred with Tan, pointing out that “relying on importation is not a sustainable solution” to the country’s current pork supply shortage.
“Why not help local swine farmers ramp up local production by using those ‘foregone’ revenues! It’s a sure win for everyone—farmers, consumers and government!” he said.
Latest data released by the Bureau of Customs showed that as of December 10, the government had lost P3.679 billion in revenues since it lowered tariffs on pork imports.
DOF backs extension
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III on Monday said he favors extending the validity of the government’s 200,000 MT MAV+ program for pork until the end of next year.
“Yes, I am,” Dominguez told reporters in a Viber message when asked if the Department of Finance (DOF) is amenable to extending the validity of Executive Order (EO) 133, which increased the government’s MAV for pork.
The BusinessMirror broke the story that the country’s pig population is showing signs of recovery from the ASF devastation as it expanded for the second consecutive quarter and reached 9.866 million heads on October 1.
Data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) indicated that the pig population at the start of the fourth quarter rose by 2.3 percent from the 9.644 million heads recorded on July 1.
Historical PSA data showed this is the second consecutive quarter that the country’s pig herd went up after it hit an all-time low on April 1, when it fell to 9.56 million heads.
Read full article on BusinessMirror
