THE Meat Importers and Traders Association (Mita) backs the proposal to extend the minimum access volume plus (MAV+) program for pork imports until end-2022, saying such will ensure the country’s meat supply while keeping retail prices in check.
“The Mita board currently feels that an extension of MAV+ up to December 2022 will be very favorable for food security and especially keeping pork prices from runaway inflation,” Mita spokesperson Paolo Pacis told the BusinessMirror.
Pacis noted that their group has supported implementing the 200,000-metric ton (MT) pork MAV+ for the entirety of 2022 since the deliberations on the expanded import program.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez earlier said he favors extending the pork MAV+ program until the end of the year. The pork MAV+ program, under Executive Order (EO) 133, is only applicable during the MAV year 2021-2022, which ends on January 31.
Last month, Agriculture Undersecretary Fermin D. Adriano said only about 22 percent or some 44,000 MT of the 200,000 MT pork MAV+ has been availed of by importers.
Adriano attributed the anemic utilization of the MAV+ to the numerous non-tariff measures imposed by certain DA agencies, including the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), in the implementation of the expanded import program.
Hog raisers have already warned that extending the pork MAV+ would do more harm than good, especially for local production. Leaders of the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. (NFHFI) and Federation of Pork Producers Inc. (ProPork) lamented that extending the pork MAV+ will not make any difference in the market prices, noting that there has been no “tangible reduction” on prevailing pork prices today.
They also argued that extending the pork MAV+ would “slow down” the local hog sector’s repopulation efforts as they continue to face further competition from imported pork products.
“The plan to extend pork MAV+ at a lower tariff until December 2022 will still not solve the inflation rate. Since issuance of those EOs [Executive Orders], there was no tangible reduction of pork retail prices as an effect of those EOs 133 and 134,” ProPork President Rolando Tambago told the BusinessMirror.
“What happened instead was it gave further sufferings for local swine farmers [with] foregone revenues of at least P3.7 billion for the government. And it did not bring down the retail price of pork in areas where there are pork shortages,” Tambago added.
Chester Warren Y. Tan, president of NFHFI, said that extending the MAV+ validity will just “slow down” the repopulation efforts of local hog raisers. Tan emphasized that local hog raisers, both back-yard and commercial, have started to repopulate their farms even without financial support from the government.
“DOF is not looking at the real ground situation. Their recommendation is not pro-local farmers. Even if they flood the market with imported pork it will not change the situation,” Tan told the BusinessMirror.
“They have to check the history and what happened this whole year. The key is to convince the local producers to produce more and eventually supply will be stable,” Tan added.
Image courtesy of Nonie Reyes
Meat importers back pork MAV+ extension
Source: News Paper Radio
0 Comments