ICTSI’s Subic port gets DA endorsement for livestock imports

MANILA, Philippines — International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) said its Subic port has been endorsed by the Department of Agriculture (DA) as a discharge port for containers of imported livestock and raw materials due to its world-class quality of service and strategic location.

ICTSI said the endorsement, signed by Agriculture Undersecretary for consumer affairs Ernesto Gonzales, highlights the terminal’s role in ensuring unimpeded trade for livestock and feed milling industries.

The endorsement is also expected to encourage more importers to use the Subic container port, making feeds more readily available and affordable to farmers, which could result in potentially lower market prices of meat products in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

“Given the initiatives of the current administration to support affordable and accessible food for the Filipino people, industry players should be able to tap services that are competitive and will provide access where Filipino consumers demand products,” the endorsement letter stated.

Given the delays in transporting cargo to Luzon during peak seasons, high-traffic months, and unpredictable weather, the DA said the Subic port’s strategic location, world-class infrastructure and efficient brand of service are what the industry needs to ensure supply delivery continuity.

In the case of animal feed importation, the Subic container port offers faster and more reliable operation as containerization eliminates weather-related delays that affect the handling of breakbulk cargo.

ICTSI subsidiary Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. (SBITC) said it continues to undertake efforts to make transactions more seamless and beneficial for industry end-users, which help reduce livestock production costs and ease the burden on the consumer.

“SBITC is a strategic hub connecting the greater Manila and Central Luzon, the center of the country’s agriculture trade. Compared to other ports, we offer lower port fees and up to 10 days of free storage for our partners. This helps businesses and suppliers arrange for transport and delivery to their intended destination without the burden of extra cost, making us the ideal port of choice,” SBITC general manager Roberto Locsin said.

Locsin said travel-wise, the port of Subic is already well-connected to Manila and new infrastructure projects in the pipeline would only improve mobility.

“Additionally, trucks can freely move to and from Subic to facilities north of Metro Manila, contributing to faster movement of goods and supplies during critical months,” he said.

Aside from recommending the Subic port, the DA assured SBITC that it would continue to work with industry players to promote unimpeded trade.

SBITC was awarded in 2007 the concession for the New Container Terminal (NCT) 1, with commercial operations commencing in 2008, under the Subic Port development project. In 2011, under the project’s second phase, ICTSI Subic Inc. was given the concession to operate NCT 2.