'Entry of Thai firm will kill local hog, poultry industry'

MANILA, Philippines - Lawmakers on Thursday warned that the entry into the country of a foreign company engaged in the livestock business will kill the hog and poultry industries in the Philippines.

Reps. Isidro Lico (ATING-KOOP Party-list), author of House Resolution 2920, said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Board of Investment (BOI) have granted the Charoen Pokphand, a Thai livestock company, with  seven-year tax holiday,  incentives for importation and other perks.

“The entry of this foreign company will definitely kill the local hog and poultry industries and will affect the employment of thousands of people,” Lico said.

Lico said the perks and incentives granted to the Thai company will be disadvantageous to the Filipino hog and poultry raisers and threaten backyard, medium and large hog farms. 

“The decision of the BOI is grievously unfair to the local hog and poultry industry players who have never received incentives or subsidy from the government,” Lico said.

Lico urged the House Committee on Agriculture and Food Security to invite the representatives of the DTI, BOI, the Department of Agriculture and the officials of the Charoen Pokphand to the inquiry.

The DTI and BOI have allowed the Thai company to invest P2.32 billion in a hog and poultry business in Central Luzon.

The company will put up a hog production in Tarlac and Pangasinan, and poultry or broiler production in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija.

“The Thai company will flood the local market with its huge production of hog and poultry that could annihilate the small and medium backyard growers in the country,” Lico said.

Rep. Agapito Guanlao (Butil Party-List) said the BOI has granted the firm a 30-percent tax incentive to allow it to import corn and raw feed materials.

“Aside from the seven-year tax holiday, the Thai company would also enjoy tariff free importation of parent hogs, machines, corn and other feed ingredients, thus gravely affecting the corn and sugar cane farmers,” Guanlao said.

Guanlao said the BOI appears to have put aside the interest of the local industry, which is still suffering from the negative effect of the losses amounting to P28.5 billion because of technical smuggling in the past three years.

“It is time for Congress to start a deep probe into this at the soonest possible time. Allowing the foreign company to operate in the country could be the last nail on the coffin of the local hog and poultry business,” Guanlao said.