February 12, 2004

Philippines Ready To Increase Korea Pork Imports

The Philippine Department of Agriculture is considering importing more pork from South Korea, but will have to evaluate the status of animal health there first, Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo said Thursday.

Lorenzo said he has dispatched a team of inspectors from the Bureau of Animal Industry and the National Meat Inspection Commission to check the veracity of the reported presence of hog cholera in South Korea.

He said a group of local meat processors have requested the department to allow increased shipments of South Korean pork into the country.

"We want to be sure that the imported meat we are bringing in will not pose any threat to our consumers and our local livestock industry," Lorenzo said.

"It is for the public good that we strictly observe the set international standards, scientific methods and technical processes of the evaluation process for animal disease prevention," he added.

For 2004, the agriculture department has set the minimum access volume or MAV for imported pork at 53,000 metric tons. The MAV is the least amount of sensitive agricultural imports the Philippines should bring in at preferential tariff rates as part of its commitment to the World Trade Organization.

The Philippines purchases around 60% of its imported pork from South Korea. The rest comes from Denmark, France, Canada and Germany.