November 14, 2003

Philippines To Regulate Chicken Import
 
The Philippines' Department of Agriculture (DA) is formulating a policy on the importation of onions and chicken in the face of mounting complaints about the seemingly unabated entry of these products into the country.

The DA has been swamped with complaints about the huge volume of importations that is allegedly hurting farmers and poultry raisers.

Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo has ordered his men to update him about the volume of importation of onions and chicken and how much it is hurting the local farmers and poultry raisers.

The DA will come up with a regulation according to the report findings to make things fair to both importers and local farmers.

"We have to face this problem squarely now before it renders thousands of people out of job," he said.

He added that unabated imports could kill local agricultural initiatives thus negating attempts at self-sufficiency.

DA is considering increasing a special safeguard duty on onion and chicken as a measure to discourage importation of such agricultural products.

But a final decision on the matter is on hold until the DA gets a clear picture of the volume of importation and how much it is affecting the local industries.

The rampant smuggling and dumping of cheap agricultural products are some of the problems plaguing the agriculture sector.

In fact, Philippines's agricultural exports have lagged behind cheap imports. Agriculture trade data showed a record deficit of $1.072 billion last year, about seven times the $149-million deficit in 1995, which was the year before the government began aggressively liberalizing the entry of cheap imports.

Philippines' widening farm trade deficit reflected the rapid decline in the competitiveness of local farmers.

Negros Oriental Rep. Herminio Teves, chairman of the House special committee on globalization, said the competitiveness of local farmers is being undermined by insufficient import tariff protection and the inadequate government subsidy.

He said the country's tariff policy, including that is agriculture, must now be aligned with promoting the national interest. He suggested that tariffs be raised on such products as rice, sugar, corn, poultry and livestock, while cutting down on tariffs on fertilizers and farm inputs that increase farm productivity.

He said government's ongoing review of more than 1,500 tariff lines should be guided by a thorough per-sector and per-product evaluation.