Broiler integrators seek recall of order allowing low-tariff chicken imports

The Philippine Association of Broiler Integrators (PABI) is urging Malacañang to reconsider its earlier decision to allow the low-tariff importation of chicken as a short-term solution to the problem of chicken supply shortage.

PABI officials said the plan to import chicken at lower tariffs could spell another disaster for the local poultry sector.

"We are concerned about the timing of the imports because it is likely that the arrival will coincide with our projections that chicken supply will already stabilize," said a PABI official.

If the planned importation from the US, Brazil and Canada pushes through, the shipments are likely to start coming in by March, about the same that local chicken supply is expected to stabilize.

In a previous interview, PABI president Rita Imelda Palabyab said the country’s broiler integrators planned to advance their harvest by five days to ensure the availability of chicken in the market and bring down prices which have been escalating since the Christmas season.

Prices of chicken went up to as much as P140 per kilo as demand during the Christmas holidays outweighed supply.

This prompted the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to recommend to the Office of the President the importation of chicken at tarriffs lower than the country’s commitment to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

"If the tariffs are lower than the in-quota rates or the rates pegged under the MAV, then this will make it difficult for local broiler or growers to compete with the cheap imports," said another PABI official.

An official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said however, that bringing in the chicken at lower tariffs will take time because any changes in tariffs will need the approval of Congress.

PABI added that the importation is no longer necessary because supply as well as prices will stabilize shortly.

A PABI official said sourcing the imports from Canada, Brazil and US would be impractical since transport costs could be very expensive.

Earlier, PABI urged DA to widen the coverage of the ban on imported chicken to include hatching eggs, live poultry, hogs and their products to ensure the disease does not set foot in the Philippines.

Last week, PABI asked the DA to implement additional precautionary measures to prevent bird flu from infecting and devastating the local poultry industry.

PABI also urged the DA to require the local poultry and livestock industries to install footwear decontamination stations in international airports particularly for arrivals from these countries and to screen the poultry population through a blood testing procedure to detect the indication of the presence of the avian flu.

PABI also proposed the immediate exploration of the capabilities of local laboratories to isolate and identify the said virus.

Another proposal is the immediate drafting and approval of government directives on courses of action to taken in an event of a poultry disease outbreak.

At the same time, a clean-up, upgrading and tight monitoring of wet market slaughter activities should be conducted since risks to human population are greater when chicken, swine and other livestock mix regularly with people in close confinement and filthy environment.