February 8, 2010

Singapore eyes Philippine pork imports      

The Singaporean government is keen on reopening talks with Manila for its importation of pork products, said an official of the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. (NFHFI).

NFHFI president Albert Lim Jr. said the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) relayed the information to industry stakeholders that Singapore has expressed renewed interest in importing pork products from the Philippines.

Lim said representatives from Singapore will be arriving in the Philippines possibly in March to again inspect facilities in Mindanao and launch discussions with the government.

He noted that the Philippines voluntarily suspended pork importation to Singapore due to the emergence of the Ebola Reston virus in 2008.

In December 2008, the Department of Agriculture (DA) had decided to hold the shipment of two 40-footer vans containing some 50,000 tonnes bound for Singapore as a precautionary measure.

Matutum Meat Packing Corp. in Polomolok, South Cotabato, was set to make its inaugural export of pork and pork products to Singapore on the day the DA and the Department of Health confirmed the presence of the virus.

Only Matutum Meat Packing Corp. was granted accreditation by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore to export pork products. The Singaporean government was keen on importing pork from Mindanao, an area declared as free from the dreaded foot-and-mouth disease of hogs by the Office Internationale des Epizooties.

The Philippine government sought assistance from international health agencies such as the World Health Organization in eradicating the virus.

Manila had been banking on its first shipment of pork products to Singapore to entice other pork importers to source their requirements from the Philippines.