‘Import ban on Brazilian poultry won’t affect supply, price trend’

MANILA, Philippines — The forthcoming country-wide ban on Brazilian poultry products will not result in supply woes and price spikes in the market as local production is on the rise while importers can easily shift to other foreign suppliers, officials and industry players said.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the banning of poultry products from Brazil will not pose a significant supply issue for the Philippines since there are alternative foreign markets that traders and importers can tap.

Furthermore, Tiu Laurel said domestic poultry production is growing, which is still the major contributor of the country’s overall poultry supply

“There might be a brief supply gap for about one or two weeks [for importers] since they have to change origins but in general I do not see any issues,” he said in a press briefing yesterday.

Tiu Laurel noted that Brazilian poultry products are one of the most competitive in the market since it is one of the cheapest.

Meat processors, who rely on imported raw materials, particularly mechanically deboned meat (MDM) of poultry, may see a slight difference in prices but will not translate into a substantial increase in retail prices of manufactured products, he said.

The STAR broke the story that the government would temporarily halt poultry imports from Brazil after the South American nation, the country’s top meat supplier, confirmed its first bird flu outbreak in a commercial farm.

Local meat processing industry players echoed Tiu Laurel’s statement, adding that the industry will not suffer a supply gap since companies keep at least a month’s worth of raw material inventory.

“Plus, the MDM prices from countries like Poland are competitive. Therefore, there should be no impact on the prices,” said Jet Ambalada, director of Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc.

“We also can source from the US and Canada,” Ambalada added.

The bird flu outbreak in Brazil, which caused the death of almost 7,400 breeders in Rio Grande do Sul, triggered import bans from various countries that have included China, Mexico, Chile and Uruguay. This is the first confirmed bird flu outbreak in a commercial poultry farm in Brazil.

The Philippines usually imposes a temporary import ban on countries with confirmed bird flu outbreaks to protect domestic poultry populations from the animal disease.

Brazil is a critical poultry meat supplier of the country, particularly for the meat processing industry, as it supplies at least 60 percent of its MDM requirement, a vital raw ingredient used to produce food items like hot dogs and meat loaves.

The government recently updated its guidelines on implementing bilateral regionalization with the trade partners that have confirmed bird flu cases aimed at limiting import bans on specific areas or regions where outbreaks are located to lessen the impact of such measures on trade and food security.

Tiu Laurel also disclosed that the DA will rush the processing of the regionalization on Brazil to limit the import ban to the specific areas or states that have confirmed bird flu cases.