DA pushes incremental pork tariff hike

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) is proposing a gradual increase on imported pork duties as farmgate prices for local hogs continue to decline.

The DA’s proposal calls for an incremental tariff increase, starting with an initial 10-percentage-point hike on the current in-quota rate of 15 percent and the out-quota rate of 25 percent.

Duties for imported pork will result in rates of 25 percent for in-quota and 35 percent for out-quota.

The total allowable import volume for pork currently stands at 204,210 metric tons (MT), which are subject to lower tariff rates.

The agency noted that farmgate prices for live hogs decreased to P150 per kilo in August from P215 per kilo in June last year.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. told reporters the pork tariffs could revert to the previous rates of 30 percent for in-quota imports and 40 percent for out-quota shipments as early as next year.

Executive Order  62, which lowered tariff rates for imported pork, is set to expire in 2028.

Tiu Laurel said the phased hike in pork tariffs is meant to prevent sudden shocks to the market.

He added that the proposal has already been submitted to the Tariff Commission, noting that once the review begins, the agency has up to 200 days to impose a temporary safeguard measure.

“Once that is triggered and depending on the situation at that time, if needed, we will do quantitative restrictions,” Tiu Laurel said.

Quantitative restrictions are measures a country imposes to limit either its imports or exports of a specific item or commodity.

The DA is also seeking higher tariff rates on frozen pork jowls, which it says have become a major import item due to their lower duty treatment and growing competition with local pork in retail and food service.

Pork imports rose by five percent year-on-year to 602,655 MT in the January to August period, up by five percent from 573,091 MT the previous year, according to the Bureau of Animal Industry.