Hog raisers warn vs entry of FMD-infected carabeef

The country’s biggest federation of hog farmers warned the Department of Agriculture (DA) yesterday against importation of cheap yet contaminated carabao meat from India, which could threaten the country’s livestock on the risks of the foot and mouth disease (FMD).

National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc. (NFHFI) president Albert R.T. Lim Jr. explained that the temporary hog shortage could be traced to the shift from chicken to pork by consumers over the bird flu scare.

Agriculture Secretary Luis P. Lorenzo Jr. had recently voiced his opposition to the importation of carabao meat from India since it exposes the country’s livestock to the FMD and risks food supply and security.

Lorenzo had also consistently ruled against unwarranted and excessive importation that "bankrupts our agricultural producers, pushes food production down and drives food prices up in the long run."

For his part, NFHFI chairman Nemesio G. Co praised Lorenzo for his decisions that safeguard the country’s agricultural sector and the consumers. He said the NFHFI has always cooperated with the DA and President Arroyo’s projects and activities that serve the welfare of hog farmers, especially the backyard subsistence farmers.

Only recently, hog raisers agreed to keep pork farmgate prices at P82 per kilo to help consumers beset by rising prices of food, even if hog farmers themselves are beset by rising prices of inputs like animal feed.

"All we ask for is the government’s assistance to reduce the cost of raising hogs and our protection against displacement from cheap yet sick imported meat. The hog industry, after all, has managed to meet the demands of the local pork market without the need for importation," Lim said.

Co said the carabao meat lobby has consistently promoted the unregulated entry of carabao meat from India despite the risk to the country’s livestock industry both from FMD and displacement of locally produced meat.