Philippines to import pork despite protest

Despite the demand of Philippine hog farmers to delay if not cancel the planned imports of some 5,000 tonnes of pork, the Agriculture Department will proceed with it.

"We already talked. Majority of the hog raisers agreed that 5,000-tonne is a volume that should not have any negative effect on pork prices, and neither will it displace local pork production," Agriculture Undersecretary for Livestock and Poultry Salvador Salacup said Tuesday (May 4).

While hog raisers in Bulacan continue to rant about the impact of imported pork on domestic prices, another group led by Albert Lim is not concerned with the volume and the timing of the imports, he said.

"We just want to clarify that while the government will conduct the bidding, it is the private sector that will bring in the pork," Salacup explained.

The Food Terminal Inc. will implement the import guidelines and monitor the process so the private sector may dip into the government's tax expenditure fund, which allows private companies to import at zero duty as the government assumes the tax responsibility.

The guidelines will allow a first tranche of up to 1,500 tonnes of pork, with the succeeding tranches depending on results of the first batch. All pork shipments will have to in before June 10.

The volume and the arrival were considered so as not to impact on the local supply, which will be normalising by end June, according to Salacup.