July 2, 2007

 

Philippines still working on Singapore's pork import requirements

 

 

The region of Mindanao -- the only authorized Philippine region  to export pork -- is still labouring on the requirements set by the Agri-food Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore to ship its pork exports to the city state.

 

National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS 11) plant operation and inspection head Dr. Myrna Habacon said there are 21 recommendations that the meat processing plants must comply.

 

Though the details on the requirements were not divulged, she said the meat packers should amend correction of some structural deficiency which will take some time. She added some of the requirements have already been met.

 

Department of Agriculture Region 11 chief for livestock division Dr Rafael Mercado said that they are closely monitoring the compliance of the recommended measures set by AVA even as he said that hopefully the plan to export pork meat to Singapore would proceed by next month.

 

Mercado said the AVA of Singapore, which is the Philippine counterpart for NMIS, had sent officers to assess conditions of meat processing plants in the country and recommended for accreditation the Chicken Dressing in Luzon, the Mt. Matutum meat packing plant in Sarangani and the Nenita Quality Foods (NQF) of Davao City.

 

He said the NQF and Mt Matutum are both in the process of making corrective measures.

 

Mercado said should NQF fails to meet the AVA requirements, all pork for Singapore export will be processed at Mt Matutum as it already fast-tracked the corrections.

 

He added NQF has a capacity of processing 50 heads per hour while the Mt. Matutum when fully operational can accommodate 250 heads an hour.

 

Habacon meanwhile said that as far as protocol requirements of antibiotic and other chemical residue level are concerned, the region's produce can now be classified as safe as it already established five years before AVA.

 

She however said compliance of requirements must be met at certain level before the NMIS will recommend to AVA for another round of assessment of the two pork processing plants in Mindanao so that proper accreditation will be issued.

 

Mercado on the other hand said that once the stringent policies set by AVA will be complied, the country would also have access to the global chicken market and ship pork products to other countries as well. 

 

Being a bird-flu free and FMD (foot-and-mouth disease)-controlled country, he said this position could economically boost the region considering that other foreign countries are looking at the Philippines especially Mindanao of sourcing out products like chicken and pork to meet their demand.