No order to limit chicken production, DAR clarifies

MANILA, Philippines — Agriculture Secretary William Dar has cleared the air between the government and poultry raisers, saying calls to limit output was just a miscommunication and that production should continue to ensure enough food supply.

This after the United Broilers and Raisers’ Association (UBRA) slammed the Bureau of Animal Industry for its stance that the volume of imports are small in proportion to local production and therefore could not be a threat.

“It’s a miscommunication. Never had the BAI intended to tell UBRA and the rest to stop production,” Dar told reporters Thursday.

“In terms of local production we have more than enough, but it does not mean that we will stop producing. We should continue so that we really have enough,” he said.

The Philippines has decided not to suspend the importation of chicken meat and its products despite calls from stakeholders amid an oversupply resulting in the decline of farmgate prices.

Instead, BAI asked poultry producers to limit their production which stakeholders said was giving way to foreign producers.

“BAI recommended to us to self-regulate and limit local production. In the kindest possible terms, this is one of the most bizarre thinking that ever emanated from the DA. The incongruence is glaring,” UBRA president Elias Jose Inciong said earlier.

Dar maintained it was a misunderstanding and that there has been no suggestion from the DA for poultry raisers to stop producing.

“We will continue supporting our poultry raisers. We already strengthened our import regulation for food safety,” Dar said.

BAI director Ronnie Domingo also defended himself, saying the problem was on the positioning of food.

“There is really oversupply in other areas. To solve that, we need industry self-regulation, for them to spread out so that even if one place is in quarantine, there will be supply in the other areas,” Domingo said.

He added that because of the African swine fever, producers have shifted to broiler production, which contributed to the oversupply.

Domingo emphasized that the DA and BAI could  not just suspend imports like what poultry stakeholders want because the Philippines has a commitment with the World Trade Organization.

Temporary suspension is only recommended when there are ongoing transboundary animal diseases and there are food safety and public health risks.