January 31, 2023

 

Philippines tariff revenues from imported corn eyed for feed subsidies

 

Joey Sarte Salceda, Chairman of the Philippine House Committee on Ways and Means, has urged the nation's agricultural officials to utilise tariff revenues from imported corn as feed subsidies for chicken layer farmers, BusinessMirror reported.

 

Salcesa said tariff revenues for corn imports are at PHP 1.9 billion (~US$34.7 million; PHP 10 = US$0.18), which could be directed back towards the egg and chicken meat sectors.

 

He said domestic farms are reducing the total number of chickens they keep, which results in an insufficient egg supply.

 

Irwan Ambal, president of the Philippine Egg Board, said earlier this month that the avian flu outbreak was largely to blame for the 20% decline in the number of chicken layers in Luzon since January of last year.

 

Salcesa said continued chicken import smuggling and undervaluation will force poultry farms to scale back or shut down, affecting the supply of eggs in the country.

 

He said there is a link between imposing import tariffs on chicken meat and maintaining the viability of the country's egg industry, adding that frozen chicken meat can be imported but eggs are more difficult to import. Salceda said this is why Philippines needs a strong domestic supply base.

 

The lawmaker said that if domestic egg prices rise, the nation cannot turn to imported eggs.

 

Salceda said the country needs to stop abuses in the trading sector and to make sure that there is sufficient egg supply.

 

He said the government needs to take immediate action to lower egg prices before farm gate prices start to rise.

 

-      BusinessMirror