Pork producers to work closely with government

CEBU, Philippines —  The Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines, Inc., made a commitment to work closely with the government in an effort to have a more cohesive action plan to protect and further develop the sector.

Officials of the Pork Producers in the country, led by chairman Nicanor Briones, met with Department of Agriculture senior undersecretary Domingo Panganiban, OIC-director Dr., Paul Limson of the Bureau of Animal Industry and OIC-Director Dr. Clarita Sangcal of the National Meat Inspection Service recently to discuss various concerns afflicting the port industry.

Briones said the meeting with the Agriculture officials is a good start to setting more open communication between the government and the local pork stakeholders. “We are grateful to Undersecretary Panganiban, Dir. Limson and Dir. Sangcal for meeting with them and listening to their concerns.”

 “We look forward to working with Usec Panganiban and the rest of his team—BAI, and NMIS,” said Pork Producers president Rolando Tambago.

According to Tambago, the closer collaboration between the government and the industry players in the local meat production industry is seen to strengthen the sector amid several challenges.

“We truly hope that this will start a more cooperative set up for the betterment of our industry,” Tambago said.

 Among the issues discussed during the meeting was the continuing problem with African swine fever (ASF), the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry, the extension of lower tariff for pork imports, and lifting the import ban on porcine processed animal protein from Italy.

 Tambago said the local industry is still reeling from the effects of ASF which has devastated many pork producers and has led many—particularly backyard raisers—to close their businesses. “Many people rely on the industry for their livelihood so it is important to keep them going. Unfortunately, the losses have been very hard on a lot of us.”

 Briones and Tambago added it is important to have a good working relationship with Agriculture officials so they can be immediately made aware of issues affecting the industry in particular, and the country’s food security in general.