New guidelines on pork imports out next week

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) will release new rules next week on the volume of pork that can be imported at reduced tariffs, a move aimed at stabilizing domestic pork prices and ensuring fairer access for local processors.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Laurel Jr. said they are reviewing the 30-year-old minimum access volume (MAV) policy this week, nearly seven months after first announcing the reassessment in April.

“We’ll try to give it before the end of this year because it’s really hard,” Tiu Laurel said, when asked about the timing of next year’s allocations under the revised policy.

The MAV sets the maximum quantity of pork that can be imported at a lower tariff than the standard rate.

Currently, pork imported under the MAV faces a 15 percent tariff compared with the regular 25 percent rate.

Back then, the DA said the bulk of the quota had been concentrated among a few importers, with a small group controlling most of the allocation.

The government agency also noted that some MAV allocations are reused, inflating total imports and limiting the benefits for consumers.

This means that while importers may enjoy lower tariffs, the savings do not always translate into lower retail prices for pork buyers.

Additionally, the DA said the initial plan was to allocate 40,000 metric tons (MT) to meat processors and the remainder to be allocated to the government-owned Food Terminals Inc. so it can intervene in the market and help stabilize pork prices.

Earlier this month, the DA opened MAV applications for next year covering pork, poultry, corn, potatoes and coffee.

Available volumes for next year include 54,210 MT of pork, 23,490 MT of poultry meat, 216,940 MT of corn, 60,000 MT of chipping potatoes, 1,457 MT of coffee beans and 37 MT of coffee extract.