December 6, 2010

 

Importers seek safety check on Philippine meat

 

 

The Philippines' Meat Importers and Traders Association Inc. has lashed back at its critics and is now urging the authorities to check if local meat products are indeed safe.

 

Critics earlier accused the meat importers of bringing "unsafe" products into the country. But the group countered that all imported meat products had been certified safe and sanitary, having passed international standards for export.

 

And unlike local meat, the imported products were subject to minimal handling and thoroughly cleaned prior to packing and freezing, the group said in a position paper.

 

"It is unreasonable and unscientific to claim that products that are deemed 'safe' in other countries are 'unsafe' in the Philippines," the group said.

 

Late last month, officials of the Department of Agriculture said the government would raise the import tariff on offal, such as pork ears and head, to protect the local markets from too much, and possibly unsafe, imports.

 

"There will be a review of tariff for offal," Davinio Catbagan of the Agriculture department had said.

 

The current tariff stands at only 5% in line with World Trade Organization agreements. The tariff makes it easy for traders to bring in offal, critics said.

 

Meat processors who import offal have expressed concern that the move to increase the tariff might have stemmed from Resolution 301 filed with the House of Representatives calling for restrictions on certain imported products.

 

The resolution in turn stems from allegations that the importation of some items, including offal, is being used to smuggle in choice cuts that are subject to higher tariff, according to stakeholders.

 

The Philippines imports 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes of offal, pork fat, skin, rind and assorted cuts yearly. The supplies are mainly sourced from Canada and the US.

 

The meat industry opposes the increase in tariff. One concern is that meat processors have no steady local supply of compliant materials, according to an official of the Philippine Association of Meat Processors of the Philippines Inc. (Pampi).

 

Also, if the tariff were to be raised, the Philippines would have to inform other WTO members of the change in rate under the prevailing tariff code, Pampi executive director Francisco J. Buencamino said.

 

Theoretically, the tariff increase will encourage processors to turn to local stocks, so long as the goods meet technical and sanitary requirements of processed food manufacturers, Buencamino added.

 

"But the reason we are importing is that, locally, there is no reliable supply of pork products that meet phytosanitary and technical requirements. We can't use materials that are not compliant because it will result in toxic food over time. The government must therefore help by putting up industry-compliant slaughterhouses with cutting floors," he explained.

 

Government is already studying how to help the private sector establish the needed facilities, such as slaughterhouses with cutting floors, Catbagan said.

 

In the meantime, the government would do well to check on other sectors of the livestock industry, because they have import allocations and may be dealing mainly with more expensive choice cuts rather than offal, Buencamino said.