Department of Agriculture helpless in curbing pork imports

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture (DA) seems helpless in completely halting the continued importation of pork products as local meat processors cannot depend solely on local production.

In a meeting last week with hog industry leaders, Agriculture assistant Secretary Salvador Salacup, along with Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) director Davinio Catbagan, citing official figures, showed that meat processors would have to continue importing part of their requirements in view of a drop in domestic production.

The two DA officials pointed out that domestic pork production decreased in 2007 and 2008 due to diseases, while demand continued to rise.

Both further clarified that pork imports entering the country account for a minimal share of the country’s total pork supply.

The DA officials assured local hog industry leaders that whatever pork comes in, those do not compete with pork sold in retail markets.

Catbagan explained that most of the pork imports are deboned fats, offal, rind or skin and other pork cuts that local meat processors use in producing hotdogs, tocino and other processed meat products.

Pork imports, the DA officials explained, accounted for only 6.86 percent of the total pork supply in the country in 2008.

It was explained to the hog industry leaders that the slight increase in pork imports last year only made up for the drop in domestic production.

Domestic pork production, fell 1.6 percent in 2008 as against the yearly three-to-four percent jump in the demand for pork cuts for meat processing.

Total pork supply for 2008, reached 1.59 billion kilos, while pork imports only amounted to 109.368 million kilos.

Of the total amount of pork imports for 2008, 72.558 million kilos were deboned pork, fats, offal, rind and skin used to make hotdogs and other processed meats.

The Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (PAMPI) needs 180 million kilos for meat processing alone.

Thus, with only 72.5 million kilos imported, PAMPI still sourced slightly twice as much of its pork requirements from domestic hog producers.

While the DA could not agree to stop pork imports, the DA indicated that it would implement more programs to improve the productivity and efficiency of the local hog sector.

Specifically, the DA would construct more cold storage plants, slaughterhouses and other post-harvest facilities to cut the growers’ post-production losses and enable them to improve the storage of their products from their farms to the retail markets.