September 26, 2012

The Philippine Bureau of Customs (BoC) has assured local hog and poultry raisers that they are ready to contain the alleged smuggling of cheap, imported meat into the country.

Customs Commissioner Rozzano Rufino B. Biazon led representatives of the hog and poultry industry on a walk-through of the release facilitation procedures for imported meat.

The tour, he said in a statement, would help them understand the various levels of checks and counter-checks that the bureau takes to ensure that only legal shipments are approved.

Biazon said the agency handles the entry processing of imported meat products with utmost speed, care and attention "as we know that these items have to get to the market as soon as possible, even as we also have to ensure that these are all properly documented, their corresponding taxes paid, and most importantly, these are still fit for human consumption."

In the process, all meat importations must have a receipt of entry, to be submitted to the Entry Processing Unit. Then, they will pass through an electronic verification depending on the criteria of the shipment, followed by a document examination. Lastly, they go through 100% physical examination and value determination.

Biazon assures local hog and poultry raisers of the measures they have put in place to contain meat smuggling, especially at this time of the year when attempts to sneak illegally imported meat into the country happen the most.

Last March, local hog and poultry raisers complained to Malacañang and the bureau about the alleged flooding of imported meat in the local market.

Legal and illegal importations of pork and chicken push down gate prices and slash their profits, they said.

Since then, Biazon has invited industry representatives to help monitor meat importations and advise the bureau on improvements to the clearance process.

More than the bureau, food importation is also regulated by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

To protect the interest of local industries, DA import permits are required prior to importation.

Agriculture officials have claimed that there is no dumping of imported meat in the Philippines since they only permit the importation of meat offal or organ meat.