Industry opposes move to hike poultry imports

CEBU, Philippines —  Poultry raisers have strongly opposed the move of the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Animal Industry’s (DA-BAI) to increase poultry imports saying it is a “bizarre policy” that go against upholding Filipino farmers’ welfare as well as President Rodrigo Duterte’s program to boost local food production.

In an open letter to Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary William D. Dar, the United Broilers and Raisers’ Association (UBRA), supported by the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc (PCAFI), has dismissed the claim of BAI that poultry imports are too “minimal” to hurt Filipino producers.  

BAI is an attached agency of DA.

“Imports are not a ‘mere threat.’ But it has caused actual damage in the last 25 years. The volume of imports need not be overwhelming to cause damage.  It only takes a relatively minimal volume to move farmgate prices from profit to loss as agricultural products are commodities,” said UBRA.

It is strange that BAI is asking Filipino poultry producers to limit their production in order to “give way” to foreign producers, it added.

UBRA has raised serious concern on the utterly depressed price of chicken during the COVID 19 lockdown that dragged prices down even below P70 per kilo.

The open letter was signed by UBRA Chairman Gregorio San Diego and Lawyer Elias Jose M. Inciong, UBRA president.  San Diego and Inciong stressed the letter is for “information on the challenges involved in the reform of the (DA-BAI) system.”

Private farm sector group PCAFI lamented that DA hardly listened to the voice of Filipino poultry raisers.

“PCAFI fully supports the complaint sent to Secretary Dar which is apparently not taken with serious attention and without considering the plight of the poultry industry. Food production is the main focus of the economic managers to recover from COVID-19.  But the people of DA  recommendi the opposite in favor of foreign producers,” said PCAFI President Danilo V. Fausto.

What is even more ironic, the group claimed that DA is supporting foreign farmers that are fully supported by their governments.

“Prices of imports are low because these come from countries with subsidized agricultural system,” the local poultry producers reasoned.

The Foreign Agricultural Service of the United States DA placed Philippines’ poultry imports at an increasing rate from 320,000 metric tons (MT) in 2018 to 345,000 MT  in 2019, and 390,000 MT in 2020.

UBRA and PCAFI officials were invited to a virtual meeting last June 4 by DA-BAI regarding meat supply with high expectation that their pleading for suspension of poultry imports will be supported.

They petitioned last May 4, 2020 for the immediate suspension of imports of poultry meat and poultry products.

Unfortunately, according to UBRA the virtual meeting turned to be extremely frustrating as BAI asked the local poultry raisers to “self regulate and limit local production.”

“In the kindest possible terms, this is one of the most bizarre thinking that ever emanated from DA. The incongruence is glaring. At a time when the secretary of DA, together with the economic managers, is encouraging local production, BAI is telling a key industry to limit production in order to give space to imports,” said San Diego and Inciong.

Oddly, while BAI intends to deprive local poultry raisers of a better market right in the Philippines, it suggests to Filipino poultry to rather explore “exports.”

“It is disappointing, to say the least, that BAI is pretending to be unaware of the competitive international market dominated by the United States, Brazil, and Thailand,” UBRA added.

BAI, together with the National Meat Inspection System (NMIS), has gained prominence in accrediting importers and foreign meat establishments as suppliers with alacrity.

BAI never at all presented any serious plan to support exports, UBRA said.

“For exports to happen, an ecosystem must be established with the cooperation of government, academe, and private sector,” it further stated.

The private farm associations believe DA should have more competent animal industry officials who have the compassion and empathy for the plight of Filipino poultry raisers.

“If the grievance lodged by UBRA is not immediately acted upon, I think Secretary Dar should find somebody else who can implement his vision and action plan for Philippine agriculture and follow the direction of President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic managers,” said Fausto.