Philippine hog raisers seek total pork import ban

A party-list congressman representing the livestock industry on Wednesday (May 20) said the spread of the AH1N1 flu virus and pork importation are bringing down the country's hog industry.

 

Association of Government Accountants of the Philippines (AGAP) spokesperson Nicanor Briones told local media that compared to the period January to April 2007, the importation of pigs increased by 334 percent during the same period this year.

 

Briones said that in the first three months of the year alone, the country already imported 48 million kilogrammes of pork, adding that small-time hog raisers would incur losses and that the hog industry loses PHP2,000 to PHP3,000 for each pig.

 

He also said the Department of Agriculture (DA) should at least ban the importation of pigs from countries affected by AH1N1 flu virus.

 

DA secretary Arthur Yap, however, said the government cannot just ban the importation of pork, but promised that he would do everything to protect the country's PHP150-billion hog industry.

 

Yap explained that countries that would be affected by an unreasonable hog import ban might retaliate, adding that the countries might stop the importation of goods from the Philippines, which will greatly affect the country's export industry.

 

The agriculture secretary also said that the AH1N1 flu virus is not a valid reason to ban pork.

 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that the deadly flu cannot be acquired by eating pork, and the virus is airborne and is transmitted from human to human.

 

WHO's declaration pushed the DA to lift import bans imposed on pork products from Mexico and the US.

 

US$1 = PHP47.270 (May 20)