March 7, 2024

 

Philippines' pork prices risk further rise due to control of imports, according to meat association

 

 

 

Micro, small and medium enterprises in the Philippines would find it harder to get "cheaper" pork due to the control of imports under a lower tariff rate, the country' meat importers warned late last month.

 

The limitation could also cause pork prices to spike as a result, Philstar reported.

 

The Meat Importers and Traders Association (MITA) addressed Philippine Agriculture Secretary Tiu Laurel Jr. In a letter, expressing worries about the quotas for the minimum access volume (MAV) for 2024.

 

Quota allocations have not been distributed, nearly a month into the current MAV year, according to group. It also questioned the decision of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to limit the share of meat traders to 40% of the pork MAV, while 60% went to processors.

 

Furthermore, the group is lukewarm to the DA's move to issue first the 25% of this year's pork MAV. MITA claimed the decision cut the quota of traders by 90% and, as such, does not abide with the general principles of the MAV mechanism, particularly in terms of transparency.

 

MITA said the bulk or over 120 of the present 145 licensees under pork MAV hold less than 500 metric tonnes of the annual allocations with an average quota of 150 metric tonnes each.

 

Small-scale pork MAV importers would be left with just an import allocation of 15 metric tonnes, MITA president Emeritus Jesus Cham told Philstar, citing the group's computations. This allocation, Cham explained, is disadvantageous to importers since it is less than the "economic lot size" of 25 metric tonnes for a 40 -foot container, thus discouraging them from importing their quotas.

 

He warned that pork prices would rise as pork retailers have to "go to big players and importers to get their imported stocks."

 

The DA has started to issue provisional import certificates for imports under the minimum access volume (MAVIC), Philstar found. Imports under the MAV are levied by the state with lower tariffs as part of the country's trade commitments.

 

The MAVIC is required for importers to secure the lower tariff privilege.

 

Under the Philippines' Executive Order 50, pork imports within the MAV are levied with 15% tariff, while shipments outside it are slapped with 25% tariff until end of the year.

 

InterCommerce, the service provided of the DA for import certificates, sent a notice to MAV licensees on February 23, informing them that the MAV Secretariat would begin distributing provisional MAVIC for certain commodities including poultry, corn and pork.

 

However, the InterCommerce told the MAV licensees that only 25% of the tentative annual allocation for the pork MAV would be distributed.

 

InterCommerce directed importers to reach out to the MAV Secretariat regarding the available pork MAV allocations and application procedures.

 

Philstar learned that the tentative pork quota in the current MAV year is at around 52,500 metric tonnes.


- Philstar

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