Onions, chicken also stalled at ports – PPA

MANILA, Philippines — More imported agricultural products were discovered allegedly stored for a thousand days at ports in Manila aside from the 888 unclaimed containers of imported rice, the Philippine Ports Authority reported.

PPA has notified the Department of Agriculture (DA) about three shipping containers of imported onions and chicken that remain unclaimed at the ports in Manila, PPA general manager Jay Santiago said over radio dwPM on Thursday.

The shipments of chicken, which are kept in refrigerated containers, have been staying in the port “for a thousand days now,” Santiago said.

“We have informed the DA about the shipments so they can inform the consignees that they should pull them out,” he added.

Santiago referred to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) when asked where the imported onions and chicken came from.

He added that since the imported products have been “cleared by BOC,” it can be assumed that these have also “undergone phytosanitary and sanitary inspection of Bureau of Animal Industry to check for possible contamination of avian flu.”

In addition, Santiago declared that 592 of the 888 shipping containers of imported rice in the Port of Manila and in the Manila International Container Port still remain unclaimed as of Sept. 30.

“Either they will be disposed of like damaged goods, or will be auctioned or donated to government agencies like the Department of Social Welfare and Development,” he said.

Agriculture spokesman Arnel de Mesa said that importers face possible charges of hoarding, adding that two of the 888 container vans of imported rice are considered abandoned after being left unclaimed for more than 30 days.

He said that one shipping container has been sitting for 275 days at the Manila Port while the other has been there for 160 days.

Meanwhile, Malacañang assured the public yesterday that the government will sustain efforts to keep the prices of goods affordable to Filipino families, especially during the Christmas season as the country’s inflation slowed down to 1.9 percent in September, the lowest since May 2020.

“The low inflation the people now enjoy is a result of the government’s programmed and persistent drive to tame inflation,” the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said.

The agency cited the slower increase in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport and utilities.

The government will continue to ramp up food production along with the targeted entry of food items that will plug supply gaps, PCO said, adding that importation would be done in a timely manner to discourage price and stock manipulation.

The administration is confident the average inflation for 2024 “will be better than expected,” PCO said.