Agriculture group pushes for tariff earmarking, MAV abolition

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) has urged legislators to pass a measure that would earmark tariff collections from agricultural imports to their respective sectors to fast-track their development and modernization.

PCAFI said lawmakers should consider creating more earmarked funds like the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) and the Salt Industry Development and Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (SIDCEF).

The RCEF and SIDCEF are guaranteed allocation to their respective sectors using the tariffs collected from imported rice and salt, respectively.

Government officials and lawmakers have commended the RCEF as a good model in developing an agricultural industry since rice tariffs collected are plowed back for the industry’s development. The SIDCEF was also patterned after the RCEF.

“Tariff collections should be earmarked to the commodity sector where it was generated to help develop the said industry,” PCAFI president Danilo Fausto said.

PCAFI proposed the creation of earmarked funds for cacao, coffee, sugar, tobacco and even vegetables, which the group noted get minimal annual budget from the government.

Furthermore, PCAFI said the earmarking of the tariff collections comes at an opportune time since the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) expired three years ago.

Previously, tariffs collected from imported commodities under the minimum access volume form part of the ACEF, which is used to develop domestic agricultural industries.

The group also called on the immediate signing into law of the Animal Industry Development and Competitiveness Act that will create an annual earmarked fund with an estimated value of P20 billion for the development of the local livestock, poultry, dairy and corn industries.

“The passage of this landmark law will boost the government’s efforts in revitalizing the livestock sector, particularly the hog industry that has been suffering from African swine fever, while providing key funding to poultry and dairy industries that have been private sector-driven in the past decades,” Fausto said.

PCAFI also proposed the abolition of the MAV system for imported pork, chicken meat and corn, arguing that the mechanism is already “outdated” with actual import volume exceeding beyond the MAV. The power to amend the country’s tariffs, which involves the MAV, are vested in Congress, PCAFI added.

“The volume of importation is more than 15 times the MAV. Clearly, there is no need to further reassure our trading partners about the entry of their poultry products by having a MAV,” Fausto said.

Fausto said lawmakers should also pass a bill to create a virology center to strengthen the country’s capacity to develop its own vaccines against African swine fever and avian influenza.

PCAFI also sought for the full implementation of Republic Act 7884 that mandates commercial milk processors and traders to secure at least five percent of their milk supply from local sources either in full or staggered basis over a certain fixed period.

The industry group recommended that RA 1556 or the Livestock and Poultry Feeds Act must be amended to address the current needs of the domestic animal feed industry. The law, which is already 69 years old, must be expanded to cover other animal feeds such as aquaculture, game animals, companion animals, pets and all those consuming animal feeds, PCAFI said.

“We would like to request from Congress to consider providing support and assistance to farmer laborers who are being left behind in the government interventions and subsidy programs given to Filipino farmers,” Fausto said.