Agricultural smuggling continues, says BOC

MANILA, Philippines — Agricultural smuggling remains a problem in the country, with the entry of P120 million worth of livestock and seafood products the latest to be foiled by the government.

The Bureau of Customs over the weekend said it raided seven warehouses and cold storage facilities found to have smuggled agricultural products.

The BOC’s latest operation yielded some P120 million worth of contraband poultry, pork and seafood products in Navotas.

Upon inspection, BOC and members of the operative team found various poultry products such as chicken drumsticks and chicken feet.

There were also frozen pork products, including pork legs, ears, hinges, aorta, spareribs, riblets and pork ham as well as brawley beef.

Smuggled seafood products included squid rings, crayfish, abalone, pompano, pangasius fillet and fish tofu.

The BOC said the smuggled goods were from China, Brazil, Australia, the United States and Russia.

The raid also found an empty warehouse that was purposely made to become a cold storage facility.

Customs Deputy Commissioner Juvymax Uy said border protection has contributed to stopping the economic impact of the entry of smuggled products in Philippine markets.

“We have to keep these products away from consumers and safeguard the livelihoods of those who go through the proper legal process of bringing in imported goods,” Uy said.

Government officials have temporarily padlocked the raided warehouses and the empty storage facility.

A further inventory of seized goods will be done while owners of the imported products will be asked to present importation documents and proof of payments.

Apart from the BOC, part of the team were the Department of Agriculture and the Philippine Coast Guard.

Agricultural smuggling remains rampant in the country. This affects locally produced farm products since these cannot compete with illegally imported ones that are priced lower.

The BOC earlier said addressing agriculture smuggling would not only protect local farmers, but also ensure food safety for all Filipinos.