September 18, 2009

Philippine National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. (NFHFI) hog raisers said the government should consider putting up more state-of-the-art slaughterhouses and storage facilities so they can take full advantage of opportunities presented by the export market.

 

NFHFI president Albert Lim Jr. said the slaughterhouses should be put up in strategic areas or in hog-producing areas.

 

Lim explained that most of the triple-A slaughterhouses are owned by private companies like meat processors. The abattoirs don't have to be triple-A, although it would be better if they are, so we can take advantage of the export market.

Pork from triple-A abattoirs are generally regarded as being of the highest quality and could be exported.

 

Lim said it would also help if the government would look for other markets for pork, aside from Singapore.

 

He said these measures should be undertaken in light of the impending full implementation of a free-trade scheme among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) by January 2010.

 

The ASEAN Free Trade Area-Common Effective Preferential Treatment (AFTA-CEPT) will come into force on January 1, 2010. Under Afta-CEPT, tariffs for most farm produce will go down anywhere between 0 and 5 percent.

 

Pork products traded under ASEAN are among those that will suffer tariff cuts by next year.

 

Lim said hog raisers have already asked for a five-year moratorium on the implementation of the AFTA-CEPT.

 

He said, however, that all indications point to the possibility that the government would honor its commitment to ASEAN.

 

Earlier, NFHFI and other local farm producers warned that the full implementation of the AFTA-CEPT would cause them "undue harm" as it could result in the entry of cheap farm produce from other ASEAN countries.

 

Lim noted that the Philippines' biggest "competitor" when it comes to pork products is Thailand.

 

Based on the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) figures, hog production in January to June increased by 2.68 percent year-on-year.

 

BAS noted that the subsector grossed P93.4 billion at current prices, or a 4.57- percent year-on-year increase.