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More companies from India can export buffalo meat, known locally as carabeef, to the Philippines after securing accreditation from the government.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to accredit 34 Indian companies to provide frozen buffalo meat to the archipelago in a move to expand sources for Philippine food processors and potentially lower the price of corned beef.
About 13 of them, however, will not be able to export carabeef immediately since they are based in Bihar, Maharashtra and Telangana in India where foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreaks have been reported.
READ: Processors appeal to halt buffalo meat importation ban from India
The DA issued Memorandum Order No. 59 imposing an import restriction on Indian buffalo meat from the three Indian states to prevent the entry of FMD-susceptible animals and protect the local livestock population.
The agency promulgated the order as Indian authorities reported an FMD outbreak in Bihar and Telangana while its inspection mission audit findings confirmed similar cases in Maharashtra affecting cattle and buffaloes.
Despite the import ban, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the agency is accrediting other suppliers from South America to supply pork, chicken and beef to the archipelago.
“It doesn’t mean that we will import more, but we need to open up supply sources so that paglabanan tayo (we can spur competition),” Tiu Laurel told reporters.
The DA said the list of accredited Indian meat exporters included six companies that were initially approved in 2019 and have sought to renew their accreditation recently.
It said the new accreditation is valid for three years and will expire on Dec. 12, 2027.
The agency clarified that it won’t grant exemptions for heat-treated products since the accreditation is specifically for trading frozen carabeef.
Tiu Laurel said if India can provide a method of boiling carabeef to address FMD concerns, similar to the process employed by Pakistan for buffalo meat being exported to China, he would consider it.
In accrediting exporters, the DA carries out a thorough verification process, including an inspection mission by the Bureau of Animal Industry and the National Meat Inspection Service.
Such protocols are employed to determine their compliance with the country’s animal health and food safety standards.
The inspection team reviewed animal health protocols in seven Indian states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Telangana and Bihar.
During the inspection mission, the Philippine authorities found active FMD cases in the last three states.
Separately, the NMIS team confirmed that all 34 companies seeking accreditation met international food safety standards, including Good Manufacturing Practices and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points.
At present, the country imports approximately 40 percent of its carabeef requirements as domestic production cannot fully meet the local demand.
The Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) had appealed for the reversal of an order that prohibits the importation of buffalo meat from three states in India.
Pampi president Felix Tiukinhoy Jr. and Pampi vice president Jerome Ong appealed in a letter to Tiu Laurel as such a ban could affect the production of canned goods by early next year.
The Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) lauded the DA’s “quick intervention” in preventing another major catastrophe.
“Time and again, with profits as motivation, these groups have been threatening us with pork shortage or price increases,” Sinag chair Rosendo So said in a statement.