THE Philippines is mulling over allocating half of the proposed minimum access volume (MAV) plus for pork of 350,000 metric tons to existing licensees, and giving 25 percent each to domestic hog producers and to non-licensees, according to a copy of draft guidelines obtained by the BusinessMirror.
The draft will be finalized by the MAV Advisory Council (MAV-AC) before being recommended to the interagency MAV Management Committee (MAV-MC), sources familiar with the matter told the BusinessMirror.
The draft guidelines would also authorize the Department of Agriculture, current chairman of the MAV-MC, to “allocate specific MAV volume for Visayas, Mindanao and Luzon” if necessary upon consultation with the MAV-AC, and if pork supply situations in various regions warrant it.
Furthermore, the draft guidelines prescribe an arrival period for pork imports under the MAV Plus.
According to the draft, half of the allocation of the three sectors shall arrive on or before June 30, with the next 25 percent arriving between July 1 and September 30. The remaining 25 percent allocation shall arrive between October 1 and January 31, 2022.
“Allocations that arrived after the stated arrival period shall no longer be considered as valid,” the draft guidelines read.
The DA through its National Livestock Program, in consultation the MAV-AC, shall conduct continuous monitoring and assessment of domestic pork supply and demand situation “to determine whether or not there is a need to release the remaining MAV plus allocation.”
Talks suspended
The BusinessMirror learned from MAV-AC members that talks on the draft guidelines were suspended after the majority of the body voted not to discuss the draft, since President Duterte’s MAV plus proposal to the Congress is not yet approved.
MAV-AC members last week voted 5-2 in favor of suspending talks on the draft dialogue until the MAV plus proposal has a resolution.
“It is premature to talk about guidelines without any Executive Order issued or approval of the MAV plus. Our position is that let’s talk about it if there is already an approved MAV plus,” Agricultural sector Alliance of the Philippines (AGAP) President Nicanor Briones told the BusinessMirror.
“Bakit mauuna ang karitela kaysa sa kabayo? Hindi pa nangyayari na nauuna halimbawa ang IRR kaysa sa mismong batas,” Briones, who was present during the meeting, added. (Why should the cart come before the horse? It never happens that an IRR is being crafted ahead of passage of a law).
The BusinessMirror learned that the five people who voted to suspend the talks on the draft guidelines were representatives from other MAV products sector, hog raisers sector, grains sector, consumer sector, and feed milling sector.
“It is really premature to talk about the guidelines without the EO,” Raul Q. Montemayor, who represented the grains sector in the said MAV-AC meeting, told the BusinessMirror.
The two MAV-AC members that voted in favor of discussing the draft guidelines were the representatives of the importers or traders and the poultry sector.
Based on the draft, the MAV Plus would be allocated to the sector/group members in the same manner as the regular MAV’s beginning year pool and mid-year pool, which is through the Systematic Distribution Procedure (SDP).
“Any balance remaining in the MAV Plus volumes after the SDP has been conducted shall be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis to any interested applicant in accordance with Section I.F[7] of the AO1 series of 1998,” the document read.
Under the draft guidelines, “existing MAV licensees who have utilized at least 75 percent of their existing MAV allocation for pork shall be eligible to avail of the additional MAV.”
Likewise, the hog and pork producing sector, as well as non-MAV licensees shall be “subject to the same requirement” for “subsequent availment of allocation,” the document read.
The eligibility requirements stipulated by the guidelines include: 1) DTI or SEC registration with Certificate of Good standing from SEC for corporations; 2) business permit; and 3) accreditation certificate from the National Meat Inspection Service.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes