September 4, 2008

The Philippines will soon break into the livestock export market as the country is about to be globally declared foot-and-mouth disease (FMD)-free, Department of Agriculture secretary Arthur Yap said.

This will mark the first time that the Philippines will export livestock products, Yap said Tuesday (September 2).

Visayas and Mindanao, according to Yap, have already been internationally accredited as FMD-free and the government is filing a claim for Luzon to be declared free of the dreaded disease that afflicts cattle.

Yap also said that the government will cooperate with the private sector to invest in world-class slaughterhouses, refrigeration and processing facilities to make the country more competitive in the global market for livestock products.