Poultry raisers confused by conflicting US, RP statistics

The country's seven biggest poultry producing companies asked the government yesterday to explain the apparent disparity between the volume of chicken brought into the country as declared by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and the US government.

Figures released by the US National Chicken Council based in Washington last month showed that 31,899 metric tons of broiler parts (mostly chicken leg quarters) were exported to the Philippines last year, a 1,058 percent increase from the 2,753 metric tons exported by the US in 1998.

However, the BAI reported that only 22,000 metric tons of poultry meat were licensed to enter the country last year.

The Philippine Association of Broiler Integrators (PABI) said this only goes to show that smuggling of leg quarters from the US continues despite an order from the Department of Agriculture and from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and Clark Development Authority prohibiting duty-free imports of chicken by duty-free stores operating inside Subic and Clark.

PABI is composed of Swift Foods Inc., San Miguel Foods, Inc., Purefoods Corp., Vitarich Corp., General Milling Corp., Universal Robina Corp., and Tyson Angro-Ventures Inc. The member-companies are into the integrated poultry business which means that they import the grandparent poultry stocks, produce the parent stocks and the layers, hatch the eggs and grow the chicks which are brought to small and medium contract growers all over the country. The poultry integrators also prepare and supply the feeds to the contract growers and then buy the live chicken which are brought to the dressing plants for eventual distribution to different outlets.

PABI president Ronald Mascarinas said the smuggling of leg quarters from the US at prices way below domestic cost of production and over-importation of chicken parts, if unabated, will result in the displacement of thousands of small and medium sized contract growers, workers in both the poultry sector and allied businesses like the veterinary sector, as well as farmers which supply the feed ingredients.

Mascarinas said there is a clear indication that the United States is dumping its leg quarters into many countries all over the world, including the Philippines, since it is selling leg quarters in the US market at prices much cheaper than the export price.

PABI members lauded Agriculture Secretary Edgardo Angara who said he will no longer allow imports of leg quarters and instead only allow the entry of whole chicken whose price is competitive with that of locally produced chicken.

But Mascarinas said government will eventually have to address the issue of dumping and import surges by asking Congress to speed up the passage of the special safeguards bills.