THE Department of Agriculture (DA) is planning to allocate most of the pork imports under the 55,000 metric tons (MT) of the minimum access volume (MAV) quota to meat processors, and a “significant” portion to its attached agencies.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Sunday, February 23, said the “general direction” is to allocate 30,000 MT to meat processors, in a bid to stabilize prices in the market as pork prices have hit over P400 per kilogram. However, he said the allocation is still set to be finalized “within the next few weeks.”
Latest data from the DA shows that prices in Metro Manila ranged from P230 to P435.07 per kilogram as of February 20, which the agency attributed to the “lingering effect” of the African Swine Fever outbreak.
Tiu Laurel said the DA will retain some 15,000 MT, which will be assigned to either the Food Terminal Inc. (FT) or Planters Products Inc. to provide the government the means to “tame prices if needed” using the lower tariff under the MAV, while the remaining 10,000 MT will be equally distributed to traders.
Under Executive Order 50, pork imports within the MAV quota are given a lower tariff of 15% versus the standard 25%. Those exceeding the quota will be slapped with the standard rate.
For his part, Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. director Jet Ambalada welcomed the planned allocation as this would effectively increase the allocation for local processors.
“This will help us maintain stable prices. As I’ve mentioned, the price of hotdogs has remained steady for over a decade, and a can of luncheon meat is now even cheaper than a can of sardines of the same size,” he was quoted as saying in the statement. (GMA Integrated News)
