Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 13) — The Department of Agriculture (DA) said the decline in imports of poultry meat and products means that the country has sufficient local production.
The department cited data from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) that showed poultry imports declined by 27 percent, from about 42,645 metric tons in January to about 33,553 metric tons in May.
About 70% of the total imports is composed of mechanically deboned meat, fats, offals, and rinds which are used by industrial processors.
Government data showed that in the first quarter of 2020, poultry production grew 3.9 percent, and accounted for 14.9 percent of total agricultural production. Chicken production grew 3.3 percent, while duck production grew 0.8%.
Given this, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said in a statement on Saturday that these imports do not compete with the supply in the local market since these are used for processing.
This is amid calls from poultry industry stakeholders to suspend importation as oversupply has caused decline in farmgate prices. They also said that the BAI recommended for them to “self-regulate” given the situation.
BAI Director Ronnie Domingo said the oversupply of poultry meat was caused by the lower demand for the commodity after the government imposed community quarantine nationwide starting mid-March.
To solve this, Domingo said that the DA is already looking for ways to address the excess supply of poultry.
“The DA’s National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) reported that aside from accredited cold storage facilities, excess meat is being stored in plug-in refrigerated vans which can be considered as food safety risk,” he said.
Dar added that the department and other relevant agencies are “strengthening the system to secure the cold storage facilities and to prevent excess meat being stored in un-accredited systems.”
The secretary also pushed the industry to work with the government in coming up with ways to solve the problems caused by the community quarantine.
Moreover, Dar said that the industry will continuously be assisted through the National Livestock Program to ensure adequate and safe production of supply.
