THE strife between hog raisers and meat processors has escalated after the manufacturers of processed meat products said they will boycott local pork until raisers can give their assurance that it is free from African swine fever (ASF).
The Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) said it has asked its members to temporarily stop the use of local pork as raw materials to contain the spread of the highly contagious ASF.
However, umbrella group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) refuted Pampi’s statements, saying backyard hog raisers would survive despite the boycott, as 80 percent of the country’s meat processors are not Pampi members.
Laban Konsyumer Inc. (LKI) warned that the word war between the two groups, which has been brewing since the outbreak of ASF was confirmed in the Philippines, would ultimately hurt consumers.
Rationale
Pampi Spokesman Rex Agarrado said his group decided to boycott local pork after the results of laboratory tests on processed meat products were leaked by hog raisers to the media.
The test results, which indicated that some tocino, longganisa and hot dogs tested positive for ASF, involved Mekeni Foods Corp.’s (Mekeni) and unbranded home-made processed meat items.
However, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said it did not want to name the meat processing firm due to the possibility of cross contamination among samples that were tested for ASF. It was learned earlier that some team members that took samples of Mekeni had put the products in the same styrofoam box as items from an unbranded processor, thus marring the integrity of the testing process.
Mekeni, which is not a Pampi member, has disowned the test results and said that the company is compliant with pertinent guidelines on meat processing. Nonetheless, the Central Luzon-based firm has submitted samples of its pork-based products to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to settle the issue once and for all.
“Because of the BAI test results leaked by some hog raisers themselves, and the continued warning of the DA to local swine groups not to feed swill to their pigs, we believe that it is safer for the meat processing industry not to buy local pork until they are able to assure government authorities and the consuming public that local pork is ASF-free,” said Agarrado.
“In fact, several meat processors have stopped buying local pork as a result of the latest findings,” he added.
Pampi also urged the government to conduct random tests on hog farms to ensure that these are free from ASF.
Pampi is the country’s largest group of meat processors, consisting of 88 member-companies, generating more than P300 billion in sales annually and employing 150,000 direct employees and another 200,000 employees in allied sectors.
‘Real victims’
Sinag criticized Pampi for blaming the ASF outbreaks on hog raisers. “The hog industry has lost P10 billion in the last two months. But are we whining now and blaming others for the misery that we are facing?”
The group said in a statement that the “original sin” of the ASF pandemic is pork imports, the raw material used by meat processors.
Sinag noted that the shipments intercepted in Cebu last June, which were contracted from Germany but contained Polish pork, were imported by a Pampi member.
The group also dismissed Pampi’s threat of a boycott on local pork, saying it is “nothing but an empty threat.” Sinag said Pampi never bought pork from local hog raisers.
Sinag said local hog farms have been conducting ASF tests voluntarily and some have been issued ASF-free certifications.
Impact on consumers
Instead of engaging in a word war, LKI urged Sinag and Pampi to instead “help” the government and the consumers “with solutions on [food] safety, supply and prices.”
The war between the two groups wouldn’t do any good for the consumers as retail prices of pork products remain elevated, LKI added.
“[The situation] is worsening. Retail pork prices remain high even when demand is low. And consumers don’t buy public statements that contaminated pork with the virus is safe to eat,” LKI President Victorio Mario Dimagiba told the BusinessMirror.
Seized pork
The Bureau of Customs (BOC), meanwhile, seized P3.5 million worth of misdeclared pork and other meat products from China which are suspected to be contaminated with ASF.
The BOC Port of Manila on Monday seized two containers with pork and other meat products which arrived at the South Harbor on October 12.
The goods were consigned to Jeniti International Trading and processed by Customs Broker Arlene de Mateo Gonzales.
Based on the initial report, the consignee declared the shipment as tomato paste and vermicelli with a total declared duties and taxes of P288,576.
The shipment was tagged “red,” and was required to undergo documentary inspection but also physical inspection and x-ray screening.
With a report by Jove Moya