Gov’t to curb imports of hogs, poultry due to lack of storage facilities

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has decided to slow down on the issuance of import permits for hog and poultry after the country’s cold storage facilities were flooded with imports, the agriculture chief said.

The decision was made after Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol met with industry stakeholders on Monday wherein it was agreed that the continuous importation of these commodities “will certainly choke the market and everybody will lose money.”

The supply glut in both commodities has led stakeholders to suffer from low prices, while some raisers complained about the lack of cold storage facilities for their produce due to the flooding of imports.

Piñol said the DA intended to “rationalize” both industries by creating a database of all poultry and hog raisers to ensure that the country’s supply and demand for both commodities would be met.

The agency will also employ a research group that will study both industries to determine the optimal volume of hog and poultry that the market needs.

“The lack of accurate data and information system led to the instability in the market and the unpredictability of prices,” Piñol said. “We have to solve this problem once and for all by rationalizing the supply system, which would take into consideration the demands and the absorptive capacity of the market.”