The National Economic and Development Authority insisted Thursday that the recommended increase in pork import would not “kill” the hog industry in the Philippines.
According to acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua, NEDA supports the minimum access volume (MAV) on pork imports coupled with lower tariff rates.
“The proposal to increase the MAV (minimum access volume) for pork from 54,000 MT to 404,000 MT by the Department of Agriculture is consistent with the supply deficit estimated by NEDA,” he said.
“The temporary increase in pork will not kill the local hog industry as imports would potentially account for up to 22.8% of total consumption,” he added.
Chua said that pork imports would not flood the market in the Philippines as other countries were also hit by African swine fever (ASF).
He also said that the limited cold chain facilities also prevent huge pork importation into the country.
Increase in pork import will not kill hog industry: NEDA
“Hence we think the 404,000 MT proposed for importation will only gradually enter the country as needed instead of being imported at the same time contrary to industry concerns,” he said.
Chua also noted the tariff rate on pork imports should be low enough “to help reduce and stabilize retail prices.”
He stressed decreasing tariff rates and increasing MAV for a temporary period of time need to complement each other to bring the pork retail price back to P224 per kilo.
“At 30 to 40%, the landed cost of imported pork based on the prevailing price by the FAO is estimated to range between P252 to P267 per kilo. This is way above the normal price of P224 per kilo. Importing at this cost would not lead to lower retail price which the people badly need now,” he said.
“If we lower the tariff rate temporarily to 5 to 10%, that would lead to lower landed cost of around P215 to P220 per kilo, closer to the pork retail price,” he added.
Meanwhile, three senators will file a joint resolution to repeal Duterte’s signed Executive Order 128 where the 30 percent import tariff within the import quota or minimum access volume (MAV) will be one year reduced to 5 percent, while the 40 percent tax beyond the MAV will be only 15 percent.