Canada presses RP to reduce its import tariff on pork by 5%

Canada is asking the Philippines to reduce its import tariff on pork by five percent in exchange for its support to the latter’s request for the extension of quantitative restrictions (QR) on rice imports.

Several non-government organizations under the umbrella group Rice Watch and Action Network (R1) criticized the Canadian agriculture negotiators in the World Trade Organization (WTO) for dangling such concession, saying Canada is not even a major player in the global rice trade.

"It is an unjust and unreasonable demand. Canada is not even one of the main suppliers of our imported rice, nor is it a major player in the global rice market. Their use of rice for pork borders on blackmail and should be opposed by the Philippine negotiators," said Jessica Reyes-Cantos, R1 lead convenor.

Department of Agriculture (DA) data show Canada is the Philippines’ top supplier of pork, cornering 8.5 million kilograms (kgs)or 23.8 percent of the total 35.7 million kgs of pork imported in 1999.

Statistics from the Livestock Development Council (LDC) statistics show the minimum access volume for pork increased from 32,500 metric tons (MT) in 1995 to 54,200 MT in 2004. The in-quota duty was fixed at 30 percent while the out-quota duty was reduced from 100 percent in 1995 to 30 percent in 2004.

Pork imports steadily increased by an average 76 percent annually from 1995 to 2000. "Canada is capitalizing on the weak state of our economy while paving the way for a reliable market of their frozen pork. The fact remains that our request for a QR extension does not affect our rice trade with them," Cantos explained.

R1, a coalition of non-government organizations concerned with the rice sector appealed to the Philippine government negotiators to utilize all means so that no sector is compromised.

"The small backyard hog raisers are already suffering due to increasing import of frozen pork from Canada and other countries,"Cantos said.

The backyard farms have the largest share of about 77 percent of hog inventory. The remaining 23 percent come from commercial farms. The Philippine government has formally notified the WTO for the extension of the Annex 5 privileges on rice in the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) on June 30.