Philippine hog industry call for ban on pork from PRRS-hit countries

The Philippine hog industry has asked the Department of Agriculture to impose a ban on pork imports from China, Vietnam and Cambodia, executives said Monday (July 28, 2008).

Industry officials suspect the diseases that hit local hogs last year may have come from smuggled meat products from these three countries, which have been hit by the porcine respiratory reproductive syndrome.

The request was made following a 4-percent drop in the country's hog output in the first three months of the year due to animal diseases that have hit the country since 2007, the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. said.

The disease was similar to those that hit China, Vietnam and Cambodia so allowing the entry of pork imports from these countries would further expose the local hog industry to this strain of virus and pose a serious health risk to people, the group said in a letter to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap.

Banning imports would serve as a deterrent to smuggling, they argued, without giving specifics. 

The group has also been seeking the removal of import tariffs on feed ingredients, including corn, wheat, soy and soymeal, among others, amid surging prices in the global market.

The Philippines currently imposes a 1-percent tariff on soy and 3 percent tariff on soymeal. Corn has a tariff of 35 percent.