AKO BICOL Party-list Representative Elizaldy S. Co has urged Agriculture Secretary William Dar to fire officials of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) who have shown alleged bias for chicken importation to the detriment of Filipino farmers.
The recent BAI pronouncement urging local poultry producers to limit production and “give way” to imports is anti-Filipino, Co said. “It’s like rubbing salt [on] the wounds of local poultry raisers facing the grim specter of bankruptcy and business closures amidst the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, the chairman of the House agriculture committee vowed to investigate the BAI pronouncement to limit and self regulate poultry local production to “make space for imports.”
Instead of limiting local production, Quezon Rep. Mark Enverga said enforcement of the protection and regulations against unfair trade practices must be enhanced.
“I am alarmed by the pronouncement of BAI to limit and self regulate poultry local production. I urge, that we in government and the industry must work together and outline immediate courses of action to help the local broilers. Reforms are definitely needed particularly in our current tariff system and implementation,” said the agriculture panel chief.
“The poultry producers deserve to be heard and be assured that the government is doing its share to combat the problem arising from high levels of importation of poultry products, while we are experiencing an oversupply of broilers in the market,” he added.
In an open letter to Secretary Dar, the United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra) cited its disappointment with BAI, an attached agency of DA.
During the virtual meeting by the Philippine Council on Agriculture and Fisheries, Ubra proposed to suspend chicken meat importation amid the local supply glut, but this was thumbed down immediately.
Enverga said his committee will also review the country’s importation policies to address the reported smuggling, illegal imports, unfair trade practices and the timing of government action related to poultry products importation.
“The country, more than at any other period, needs measures to ensure the adequacy, availability and affordability of our agricultural food products, and it should be done by protecting our local producers and manufacturers,” said Enverga.
Co: hazard from imports
For his part, Ako Bicol’s Representative Co said unabated chicken importation is flooding the local market with chicken meat from unknown foreign sources. This, he said, could pose severe health hazards to consumers.
BAI officials, he said, failed to show evidence of overpricing or even lack of local supply to justify more imports. “Even at the start of the Luzon-wide lockdown, chicken prices have fallen to precariously low levels of P60 to P70 per kilo, which is unsustainable. Thus, allowing more imports at a time of local oversupply is both shady and unpatriotic,” Co said.
He asked Dar to review BAI’s decision-making and assess whether its officials are working for Filipino or foreign interests. “Whoever is making these questionable antilocal and pro-imported guidelines has no business being in public service. It endangers the Philippine economy and could harm a long list of taxpayers. This should never be allowed to happen,” he added.
Co echoed the position of Ubra questioning BAI’s claim that poultry imports were too “minimal” to hurt local producers. “I agree with Atty. Bong Inciong that unbridled importation has caused so much damage to the poultry industry in the last 25 years. It’s true that the volume of imports need not be overwhelming to cause damage. We’ve seen how it depressed prices to unsustainable levels,” he said.