DA says supply of pork, chicken enough for holidays

There will be enough supply of chicken and pork during the Christmas season as the government prepares to allow more chicken imports and as hog raisers called off their planned "pig holiday," according to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap.

Yap said the government is reviewing its earlier plan to import 3,696 metric tons (MT) or about three million kilograms of chicken meat to ensure sufficient and affordable chicken supply during the Christmas season.

"We will be reviewing this previously approved import volume to ensure sufficient supply of chicken this Yuletide by taking steps to discourage hoarding that leads to abnormally high prices while at the same time not unduly affecting the production of local growers," Yap said Wednesday.

He said the initial importation of whole chicken and leg quarters was an offshoot of previous consultations between DA officials and industry players following the onslaught of typhoon "Milenyo" last September.

According to Yap, the arrival of some 80 to 90 container vans of chicken meat before Christmas is expected to stabilize prices of chicken. A total of 119 container vans of chicken are expected to arrive within this year.

"The supply shortfall in chicken was established two months ago or before I returned to the DA, when poultry producers had agreed to bring in three million kilograms," Yap explained. Yap was reappointed DA secretary months after he resigned at the height of the alleged destabilization moves against President Arroyo.

"We would be reviewing this previously-approved import volume to ensure sufficient supply of chicken this Yuletide by taking steps to discourage hoarding that leads to abnormally high prices while at the same time not unduly affecting the production of local growers," he said.

Citing data from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), Yap noted that industry players belonging to the Philippine Association of Broiler Integrators Inc. (PABI) and United Broilers’ Raisers Association (UBRA) recorded a loss of some three million kilos worth of "bird capacity."

As a result, the DA allowed PABI to import two million kilograms of chicken while UBRA was also allowed to import one million kilograms by Dec. 31 on condition that the DA would work on the lifting of the Special Safeguard Duty (SSG).