DA lifts ban on meat imports from Japan, South Korea

The country can now resume importation of frozen meat and meat products from South Korea and Japan which have been both declared as foot-and-mouth-disease (FMD) free.

Agriculture Secretary Edgardo Angara approved the recommendation of the Bureau of Animal Industry to lift the ban on meat importation from the two countries after the Paris-based Office International Epizooties (OIE) issued a certification that Japan and South Korea are now finally free of FMD, a debilitating sickness that affects livestock like cattle and hogs.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) banned the entry of imported meat and meat products from Japan and South Korea last April after it was reported that the livestock industries in those two countries were plagued with FMD.

FMD is a severe, highly communicable viral disease of cattle and swine. It also affects sheep, goats, deer and other cloven-hoofed animals. The disease is characterized by fever and blister-like sores on the tongue and lips, in the mouth, on the teats and around the hooves and between the toes. Many affected animals recover but the disease leaves them debilitated, causing severe losses in meat and milk production. And although humans are not susceptible of FMD, they can serve as carriers.

Since the outbreak of FMD in Japan and Korea, their respective governments have implemented several measures to eradicate the disease.

With the OIE’s declaration of Japan and shortly, South Korea, as FMD-free zones, Angara has issued an administrative order to BAI Director Teodoro Abinay, authorizing importers to resume their purchases of meat and meat products from the two countries.

Meanwhile, the Philippines’ application to recognize Mindanao as an FMD-free zone without vaccination was approved by the OIE last Sept. 27.

The OIE’s FMD and other Epizooties Commission has also agreed to endorse the Mindanao application to OIE member-countries for comments, he said.

If no comments are received from OIE members after three months, the country’s application will be approved with finality during the OIE general session in May next year. With the acceptance, the country could export meat from Mindanao to the rest of the world.

"The OIE’s approval of the Mindanao application is a very positive development, not only for Mindanao, but for the whole country, because this gives us a chance to export more local products, especially now that we are trying to promote Philippine agricultural products to the world market," Angara said.

Angara said Mindanao has a very big potential for livestock raising because of its good climate and abundance of local feed materials.

Data from the Bureau of Animal Industry show that as of April this year, Mindanao has 1.019 million head of carabao, or 33.7 percent of the national carabao population of 3.024 million. It also has 819,495 head of cattle, or 33.06 percent of the national total, and 3.243 head of swine, which represents 30.14 percent of the total number of hogs in the country.