MANILA, Philippines — The government may soon allow the entry of 150,000 metric tons (MT) of imported pork at a lower tariff to bring down the retail price of the meat product.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the proposal to increase the pork minimum access volume, also known as MAV plus, has gained support from economic managers as a measure to lower the price of the animal protein.
Department of Economy, Planning and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan told The STAR that he supports increasing the pork MAV since the country has been dependent on imports to boost its meat supply.
The opening of the pork MAV plus was pitched by the Department of Agriculture (DA) last month as a way to pull down pork retail prices that remained elevated amid a shortfall in local supply.
The average price of fresh pork liempo in June rose by almost 12 percent to P388 per kilo from last year’s P347 per kilo, based on Philippine Statistics Authority data.
Latest report by the DA showed that imported frozen liempo in Metro Manila costs P426 per kilo, at least P100 higher than its fresh counterpart, priced at P314 per kilo.
Pork imports within the MAV are levied with a lower tariff of 15 percent compared to the 25 percent tariff slapped on imports outside the MAV.
This means that pork with a cost of P100 imported within the MAV will only have a P15 tariff, lesser than the P25 that it would have been levied if it was imported outside the MAV.
Annually, the country allows the importation of 54,000 MT of pork at the lower tariff rate.
However, annual pork imports have been way above the annual MAV with total volume reaching over 700,000 MT as the country relied on imports to plug the shortfall in domestic supplies.
Under existing laws, the MAV can be adjusted or modified in times of shortages or abnormal price increases in agricultural commodities.
Tiu Laurel said 100,000 MT of the total proposed pork MAV plus would be sold only through the government’s Kadiwa system to ensure that consumers will have access to more affordable pork.
The 30,000 MT, meanwhile, will be allocated to meat processors to prevent any price spikes in their products or may even result in a reduction in the prices of processed meat items.
The remaining volume of 20,000 MT will be for the food service sector, Tiu Laurel said.
“Our goal is for the public to have a better Christmas. Filipinos will have access to cheaper rice and pork come December. There will be no price spikes,” Tiu Laurel said.
Tiu Laurel said they plan to submit the request to increase the pork MAV to the Congress next month. Congress has the mandate on all tariff-related matters, including the MAV.
Under existing laws, the President is required to submit any adjustments or modifications to the MAV to Congress, which is given 15 days to act on the Chief Executive’s proposal.
In the event that Congress fails to act after 15 days, the President’s proposal to adjust the MAV of a commodity will be automatically approved. The President can then issue an executive order reflecting the adjustments in a commodity’s MAV.
The last time the pork MAV plus was implemented was in 2021 with the goal of boosting local stocks and decreasing retail prices due to the detrimental effects of African swine fever on domestic pig production. The pork MAV was raised by 200,000 MT that year.
Be the first to comment