The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday said the local swine industry would benefit in the forthcoming integration of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) as it holds several advantages over its counterparts in the region.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said being free from foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) without vaccination remains as the country’s biggest advantage.
Alcala said the country’s FMD-free status, as declared by the World Organization for Animal Health or the OIE, has paved the way for export opportunities for local hog raisers.
“As such we were able to export hogs and carcass to Dubai, and soon to Singapore and Russia,” he said.
He said the country’s swine industry has also several “plus points,” which include large domestic and institutional market, high utilization of pork byproducts, strong organization of hog producers, access to good genetics and global technology supported by swine breeder farm accreditation programs as well as educated entrepreneurs and farm managers.
“The AEC would also serve as an opportunity for uniting all pork industry stakeholders in addressing production and marketing challenges to make the local livestock industry more competitive,” Alcala said. Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the agriculture chief said the livestock and poultry subsectors continue to be “bright spots” in the agriculture sector, posting a 1.02-percent growth in production.
The sector contributed 16.1 percent of the total agricultural output with a gross value of P247.1 billion (at current prices) in spite of the calamities that struck the Philippines in 2014.
“With this growth in the livestock sector, the swine industry has the biggest contribution. Overall it is the second-largest provider to the country’s agriculture sector next to rice,” he said.
Hog production expanded by 1 percent in 2014.
The uptrend in production and prices boosted the gross output value of hog by 5.82 percent from the sustained demand from hotels and restaurants.
Meanwhile, Alcala said the DA is confident that it is on the right track on the implementation of programs and interventions for the hog industry as it seeks to make the sector more competitive in the AEC.
“To further enhance competitiveness, the DA will remain vigilant in its surveillance and monitoring to ensure the country maintains its FMD and avian-flu virus-free status,” Alcala said.
The DA also continues to establish diagnostic laboratories for more effective hog-cholera eradication program and is currently profiling swine disease in collaboration with University of the Philippines College of Veterinary Medicine.
Recognizing the need for more research and development initiatives, the DA has a joint project with the Department of Science and Technology and Swine Breeders Association of the Philippines on public-private partnership on the application of animal genomics to increase productivity and improve efficiency of the Philippine swine industry.
The said project aims to improve and spread the application of gene-marker technology in swine breeding and selection.
“We are also seriously addressing the problem of smuggling with the help of the Bureau of Customs, regional quarantine officers, and the National Meat Inspection Service,” Alcala said.
He said the DA is fully supporting the proposed bill of Sen. Cynthia Villar, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, which seeks to make smuggling as a nonbailable offense.
“This bill, once approved, will be a strong deterrent against smuggling in the country,” Alcala said.
PNA