October 17, 2006
Philippines lifts ban on meat, products from importers
MEAT and meat products entering the Central Visayas region are now safe for consumption, an official of the National Meat Inspection Services (NMIS) Region 7 said.
According to Dr Alvin Leal, NMIS Region 7 chief of meat import and export, the office had already lifted the temporary ban on imported meat and meat products from some countries due to the outbreak of the foot-and-mouth disease last year.
Leal said the region is now allowing the entry of meat and meat products from Australia, United States, India, Canada, various countries in the EU, New Zealand and some parts of Brazil.
The Philippines had banned meat and meat products from Argentina, Egypt, Turkey, Myanmar, Mongolia, Hong Kong and some areas in Brazil due to the FMD outbreak last year.
However, Leal said except for the meat coming from some areas in Brazil, the products from the other countries covered by the ban are not yet considered safe as there is no advisory yet from the NMIS central office concerning the status of meat products coming from the other countries that were banned.
Meanwhile, Leal said the lifting of the ban has caused an increase in meat imports in the region.
Data from the NMIS Region 7 showed that for the first six months of this year, meat importation already reached 4,573 tonnes, and is expected to increase by the end of the year, said Ma Liz Calunsag, NMIS officer-in-charge for meat science and technology.
While meat import is expected to increase again this year, Leal said this would not affect the market for local meat and meat products due to the Minimum Access Volume implemented by the Department of Agriculture to control meat importation.
There is still a strong demand for local meat and meat products but due to supply shortage, the industry has to resort to importation, he said.
Due to the huge volume of hog and poultry raisers in the province, only cattle is open for importation, while pork and chicken imports are strongly regulated, Leal added.
