Ex-solon warns of looming food crisis

Unless Agri Department reverses its insistence on more imports, lower tariff for imported meat

On Mar 16, 2021

After his warning that the agriculture department’s (DA) insistence on putting a price cap on the price of pork meat would result to a ‘pork holiday’ came true, former AGAP partylist representative and Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines vice president, Nicanor Briones, warned the country is facing a food supply crisis by next year unless the DA reverses its policy of more importation coupled with drastic reduction on the tariff rate of imported meat (photo grab from NPC media forum last March 12, 2021).

A FORMER member of Congress whose group is focused in helping the country’s agricultural sector has warned of a “looming food supply crisis” in the country by next year unless the Department of Agriculture (DA) reverses its policy of solving the food supply problem thru massive importation and more tariff reductions.

At the ‘Meet the Press/Report to the Nation’ media forum of the National Press Club (NPC) last March 12, 2021, former AGAP partylist representative, Nicanor Briones, also the vice president of the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines, said the department’s reliance on massive importation and more tariff cuts would not help solve the sector’s current woes that has been compounded by the onslaught in 2019 of the ‘ASF’ (African Swine Fever) that has nearly decimated the country’s swine population, especially in Luzon.

During a hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee chaired by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, DA secretary William Dar had admitted he planned to propose further increasing the country’s ‘MAV’ (minimum access volume) for pork products from the current 54,000 metric tons to 404,210 metric tons.

At the same time, Dar also wanted the current tariff duty of 40 percent for ‘prime cuts’ (those the public usually buys at wet markets) to just 5 percent, purportedly to discourage smuggling.

Dar said the proposal is already with Pres. Duterte and they wanted the Chief Executive to sign an executive order to this effect by end of March—when Congress is not in session, a tactic that has earned the ire of Salceda and other lawmakers.

But according to Briones, while they are amenable to further increasing the MAV to ease pork supply, coupling this with a tariff cut would spell disaster to the already suffering local hog raisers as they cannot possibly compete with imported cheap pork.

He also reminded that Dar that not only hog raisers but also other related sectors like corn and rice farmers would be affected when the country’s hog industry collapses.

Briones pointed out that hog raisers used rice husks as feed additives while corn is a basic requirement for the production of animal feeds for the hog, fisheries and poultry sectors.

“Kung wala nang nag-aalaga ng baboy, sino pa ang bibili ng mais at ipa ng palay?

At kung malulugi rin ang mga nagtatanim ng palay at mais, titigil na rin sila. Ang resulta, krisis sa (suplay) ng pagkain,” he warned.

Early last month, Briones’ warning of a ‘pork holiday’ or the absence of supply of pork in Metro Manila proved true after Dar insisted on implementing a ‘price ceiling of P270 per kilo for those sold in public markets and arresting those violating the regulation.

On the week it was implemented, there was no available pork in Metro Manila wet markets.

Briones further warned that should the DA proceeded with its plan to increase the MAV while also reducing the import tariff to 5 percent for prime cuts, hog raisers would troop to the office of Dar and leave behind their remaining stock of swine and leave it to the secretary to “care for them.”

“Siya na ang mag-alaga sa mga baboy namin,” an exasperated Briones declared.