December 30, 2010
Philippine meat importers reject proposed hike in pork offal duties
The Philippine Meat Importers and Traders Association (Mita) urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) not to raise tariff on pork offal, saying the move would hurt poor Filipinos who consume the pork byproducts.
Considered under the category of pork offal are pig lips, cheek, liver and head.
MITA president Jesus C. Cham said a five-percent duty hike on pork offal could also result in higher prices for processed food products which the poor consume as substitute for fresh pork and chicken.
Cham said the increase will hit consumers who directly consume offal meat processors who use [pork] skin and fat to process hotdogs and meat loaf. He added that these processed food products are cheap protein sources for the poor.
The official also noted that poor Filipinos who subsist on US$1 a day would be hit the hardest if pork, offal would become more expensive since they cannot afford fresh pork and chicken priced at PHP180 (US$4.09) per kilo and PHP130 (US$2.96) a kilo, respectively.
He said that pork offal is about $1 a kilo, Filipinos who live on $1 a day, the prices of fresh pork, estimated at around $4 a kilo, and chicken, at $3 a kilo, are simply beyond their reach.
MITA, however, could not provide data on how many poor Filipino consumers purchase and directly consume pork offal.
Earlier, hog raisers complained that the increase in the importation of pork offal is starting to pose a competition to locally produced pork.
Based on data provided by the Bureau of Animal Industry, shipments of pork offal have already reached 48.45 million kilograms, or 48,450 tonnes as of November 18.
This volume has already surpassed the total shipments of pork offal into the Philippines in 2009. Last year shipments of pork byproducts were pegged at almost 29 million kilograms, or 29,000 MT.
The Philippines' major sources of pork offal are the United States and Canada.
The DA noted that pork byproducts are treated as "waste" and are not usually consumed in countries where these products are sourced.
Here in the Philippines, pig liver, head, cheeks and ears are used popular dishes sisig, dinuguan and tokwa't baboy.
Importers pay a 5-percent duty on pork offal traded under the World Trade Organization (WTO). The government does not limit the volume of offal that can enter the Philippines.
Since the country's joining the WTO 15 years ago, Cham lamented that importers and exporters of other countries have been able to introduce more products in the market but local producers stood still.
Last month the DA announced the possibility of increasing the 5-percent duty on imported pork offal traded under the WTO after hog raisers complained that the influx of these products is starting to harm the local industry.
Assistant Agriculture Secretary Davinio Catbagan said the DA will study the feasibility of hiking tariffs before the department makes any recommendation to the Tariff and Related Matters.
