Lack of accreditation protocols hampers fresh meat exportation

CEBU, Philippines – If only the Philippine government were able to clinch accreditation protocols with potential overseas market, local meat processors would have already penetrated the export market, this according to Philippine Association of Meat Processors of the Philippines, Inc. (PAMPI) president Felix Tiukinhoy.

Tiukinhoy said Visayas and Mindanao have abundant supply of fresh pork and chicken meat, which is more than enough to even cater to the export market. However, the government especially the Department of Agriculture (DA) still has to reconcile accreditation process for fresh meat exports to pave way for potential exportation of these products.

“In Visayas and Mindanao, we have good supply of fresh chicken and pork meats, and the quality is even competitive for export market, because they are free from FMD [foot-mouth-decease], but we need the government to open the market for us,” said Tiukinhoy in an interview.

Two years ago, he said the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provided support funds to help the hogs and poultry raisers export their products to other countries. The budget already covered the processing of accreditation protocols and other quality requirements. Unfortunately however, the budget was used for another program, he claimed.

Currently, the Philippines can only export fresh pork meat to Singapore. However, meat exporters to Singapore are challenged by the competitive pricing of pork imports from Australia.

“As far as chicken and pork meats, we have extra supply for exports, if only the government can prioritize and schedule the processing of accreditation protocols per country, especially in the European Union, United States, and others.

On the other hand, the Philippines is one of the largest importers of fresh beef meat especially from India.

Tiukinhoy, who is the president and chief executive officer of Cebu-based Virginia Foods Inc. (VFI), added that the company is importing Buffalo meat for its corned beef and beef loaf canned goods.

Tiukinhoy hopes that the new leadership of the DA will consider this concern and that PAMPI will soon discuss with the government officials, on this matter.

Meanwhile, poultry raisers reported earlier this week that the sector would not be able to achieve the projected 20-percent increase in broiler production for 2010 due to the impact of the El Niño phenomenon, as well as the threats posed by the continuous importation of cheaper alternatives to local chicken.

The United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra) said in a report that the industry could only manage to increase broiler supply by 4.4 percent to 549.1 million kilograms this year.

UBRA president Gregorio San Diego said that the poultry sector is confronting a number of difficulties this year.

He mentioned that El Niño is causing broilers to become smaller and weigh less. Also raisers are losing money because they have to sell below production cost.

San Diego noted that as of April, poultry raisers spent P68.30 for producing 1 kg of broiler. But farm-gate prices that month averaged P66.13 a kilo.

In March, poultry raisers suffered bigger losses as farm-gate prices averaged P67.76 per kilo but the cost of production was pegged at almost P75 per kilo. (THE FREEMAN)