The Department of Agriculture’s reaction to the discovery of banned pork products in a shipment of German meat was swift: It disallowed all other traders from Germany to export their meat products to the country. The measure, which took effect as soon as the agriculture chief announced it, is temporary. However, it will surely hurt because Germany is the second top source of meat imports for the Philippines.
Last year, the Philippines bought 88 million kilograms, or 88,000 metric tons (MT), of meat products from Germany (see, “PHL bans German meat for quarantine breach,” in the BusinessMirror, July 4, 2019). The volume of meat bought by the Philippines from Germany translates to big business for a number of German meat traders. The unintentional mistake of one German firm, which resulted in the inclusion of banned Polish pork in its shipments, would certainly cost its counterparts a lot of money.
This should serve as a warning to the country’s other trade partners that Manila will not hesitate to impose a blanket ban on their meat products if they violate Philippine quarantine laws. While African swine fever (ASF) is a disease that is fatal only to hogs, it could wipe out stocks in farms and the impact of outbreaks on the country’s food supply could be felt for years. Just look at China, which failed to contain the dreaded hog disease. The death of millions of hogs sent Beijing hunting for sources that can supply the huge requirement of the Chinese for pork.
Philippine officials, particularly quarantine officers stationed in Cebu, deserve to be praised for their alertness in apprehending the shipment containing banned pork products. To the credit of the German firm, it immediately apologized after the Philippine government called its attention to the quarantine breach. The incident, however, is alarming because it shows that mistakes do happen and the Philippines must always be vigilant as it can’t afford to let its guard down.
This incident should prompt the government to speed up the implementation of anti-ASF programs.
The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) has already drawn up an ASF plan, which details strategies for preventing the entry of the disease. It’s just a matter of funding the interventions aimed at protecting the P200-billion domestic hog industry. The national government must immediately release the P85 million requested by the BAI to implement the anti-ASF measures starting this month.
The government must also step up efforts to fight smuggling as the ASF virus could be transmitted even by fomites, or nonliving objects, such as shoes and knives. It must strengthen maritime patrols along the country’s porous borders to discourage criminals from bringing items into the country that could introduce ASF. All illegal shipments apprehended by authorities must never be allowed to leave the ports.
It cannot be emphasized enough that the ASF has the potential to decimate local hog farms, most of which are owned by backyard raisers who may not recover from an outbreak. The spread of the dreaded hog disease will not only threaten the country’s food supply and raise food prices; it could also act as poverty trap for backyard raisers.