DA eyes expanded MAV for pork, corn

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture is eyeing the approval of an expanded minimum access volume (MAV) for imported pork and corn within the month.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the approval of the expanded MAV for imported pork and corn under the MAV Plus scheme could be approved this month.

“It’s on the way,” he said in a message to The STAR.

Tiu Laurel earlier said the agency is looking to expand the MAV for pork and corn to stabilize domestic retail prices amid rising shipping costs, as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East stains global oil supply.

The MAV Plus is a government mechanism to increase the volume of imports for specific commodities at lower tariff rates. Any expansion of import volumes must be approved by the President upon the recommendation of the MAV Management Committee, which is chaired by the agriculture secretary.

The Federation of Free Farmers (FFF), a member of the advisory committee, said the panel had recommended an additional 250,000 metric tons under MAV Plus.

“Only for corn, this would be on top of existing MAV of around 250,000 MT,” FFF national manager Raul Montemayor told The STAR.

He added that additional MAV volumes will apply to countries outside of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as rates under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement are already under five percent.

The Philippine government sets a MAV of 54,210 metric tons (MT) for imported pork, with tariff rates at 15 percent tariff for in-quota and 25 percent for out-quota.

Under the DA’s revised MAV allocation structure, 50 percent is given to meat importer processors with verified processing facilities, which is equivalent to about 27,105 MT.

A 20-percent MAV allocation is given to state trading enterprises to support food security and price stabilization objectives, with quota volumes set at around 10,842 MT. Other qualified pork importers have been allotted 30 percent or an in-quota volume of 16,263 MT.

Imported corn, on the other hand, has a MAV of 216,940 MT and is slapped with a tariff of five percent for imports within the quota, while a 15 percent tariff is charged for shipments outside the quota.