Senators seek ASF state of emergency

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate committee on agriculture and food yesterday pressed Malacañang to declare a state of emergency due to the continuing onslaught of the African swine fever (ASF) throughout the country that has so far caused some P50 billion in losses to the local hog industry.

The recommendation came at the continuation of the committee’s inquiry into the rising prices of pork, where senators, agricultural groups and industry representatives also continued to hit the controversial proposal of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to reduce tariffs and raise the minimum access volume (MAV) for pork imports.

Sen. Francis Pangilinan, who is a former presidential assistant for food security, first proposed the declaration of the state of emergency in Luzon so that funds could be immediately released to hog raisers, many of whom have already shut down due to ASF. The motion was seconded by Sen. Nancy Binay.

The committee, chaired by Sen. Cynthia Villar, later amended its motion to make the recommendation for the declaration of the state of emergency nationwide upon the appeal of swine raisers from the Visayas and Mindanao represented during the hearing by Chester Warren Tan of the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar told the panel that ASF has already spread to 463 municipalities in 40 provinces inside 12 regions. The disease has so far led to the culling of 442,402 hogs, affecting 68,382 farmers.

Under a state of emergency, the government will give financial aid instead of extending loans as the DA wants to do, according to Pangilinan.

He said the government could use revenues from tariff collections on pork importations to fund assistance to hog raisers.

During the hearing, Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura chairman Rosendo So accused DA officials of “doctoring” figures to justify the planned raising of the MAV to 400,000 tons, which is equivalent to eight million when the agency’s own estimate of hog population losses is only at 4.3 million heads.

Villar noted that President Duterte’s own statement a few days ago placed the shortfall at only 84,000 metric tons of pork.

Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines president Edwin Chen strongly opposed the proposal of the DA and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to reduce the existing tariffs of 30 percent and 40 percent to as low as five percent.

Chen said even at 40 percent tariffs – for imports outside MAV – importers could still earn a 10-percent profit or 120 percent in 12 months.

He added that his group is mostly large hog raisers and small swine cooperatives that were forced to make some imports to ensure supply that became tight due to ASF.

Chen lamented that the DA and NEDA proposal would only benefit pure importers and kill the local industry.

“As it is, (pork importers) are already swimming in billions (of pesos in profits) and the DA wants to lower tariffs at the cost of the local industry,” Pangilinan said in Filipino.

Indemnity fund

Meanwhile, Agriculture Sector Alliance of the Philippines president Nicanor Briones emphasized the need for an indemnity fund for the industry, to help both commercial and backyard hog raisers affected by the pandemic.

At the same hearing, Villar said she would draft a bill similar to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund, but for the livestock, poultry and dairy sector.

Under the planned bill, a competitiveness enhancement fund will be created from the tariff income from the industry.

The collected amount would be allocated to uses which are important to the industry, one of which will be disease control, according to Villar.

Moreover, the senator reiterated her disapproval for the proposal to increase the MAV on pork imports.

“I don’t think we should increase the MAV. Maybe we should decrease the tariff on out-quota by 10 percent and the in-quota by 10 percent, but not five, 10, 15, 20 percent. That’s too much,” she said.

At a previous Senate hearing, Villar stressed that the proposal to increase the MAV and lower tariffs would kill the local hog raising industry.

Last week, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua said that the NEDA has submitted to President Duterte the proposal to cut tariff rates on pork imports.

Under the proposal, for in-quota or those within the MAV, a five-percent tariff is proposed for the first three months that will be increased to 10 percent afterwards.

Current imports under the MAV, which is at 54,000 metric tons, are slapped with a 30-percent tariff. For those outside the MAV, a proposal of 15-percent tariff is initially eyed, before hiking to 20 percent.

At present, out-quota imports are levied at 40 percent. The proposal covers meat of swine, fresh, chilled or frozen.

Avian flu ban expanded

In another development, the DA is expanding the temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds and their products from the entire United Kingdom, driven by new reports of outbreaks of an avian virus.

In a memorandum order signed by Dar, the DA issued a temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen originating from the UK.

This was in response to the reported ongoing outbreaks of H5N8 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in several areas in the UK.

The DA had earlier issued a temporary ban on poultry products from England.

“Given that the HPAI has already spread in the four countries of the UK in a span of three months, it is recommended that a countrywide ban be imposed on the UK,” the DA said.

The HPAI in the UK has killed 203,128 birds.

The temporary ban aims to prevent the entry of the HPAI virus and protect the health of the public and the local poultry population.

The said shipments in transit, loaded or accepted unto port before the official communication of the order to the British authorities shall be allowed provided that the products are not sourced from the whole of England, Orkney Islands in Scotland, Nr Lisburn and Nr Clough in Northern Ireland and the Isle of Anglesey, according to the DA.

“All other shipments accepted at the port of origin the day after the date of official communication to the British authorities are therefore advised not to sail,” the agency said.

The memorandum also called for the immediate suspension of the processing, evaluation of the application and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance of the aforementioned products.

The DA also imposed the stoppage and confiscation of all shipments of the above stated commodities, with the exemption of heat treated products, into the country by all veterinary quarantine officers or inspectors at all major ports of entry if the provisions of the order are not followed.

The memorandum order took effect on March 5 and shall remain in force unless revoked in writing.

Under the Revised Administrative Code, the DA is authorized to issue a general order preventing the entry of animals, animal effects, parts or products from any country with dangerous communicable animal diseases.

Latest data from the BAI showed that a total of 1.66 million kilos of chicken products were imported from the UK as of Jan. 31. This accounts for nearly 10 percent of the 16.9 million kilograms of imported chicken in the period.

Last month, the DA also imposed a temporary ban on the importation of domestic and wild birds and their products from the Czech Republic as well as the Russian Federation following reported outbreaks from the virus.