Domestic hog and poultry industry stakeholders denounced the decision of the Board of Investments (BOI) to approve the registration of a P2.32-billion integrated production project of Thai-owned Charoen Pokphand (CP), saying that the Investment board effectively signed the “death sentence” of the local growers.

The CP project will involve parent stock farms in the provinces of Tarlac and Pangasinan and six broiler farms in Bulacan and Nueva Ecija that will begin operations in February 2013.

Abono chairman Rosendo So, Swine Development council (SDC) director, said that the move will surely kill the domestic swine and chicken industries, which have yet to fully recover from a “storm” of rampant meat smuggling that resulted in losses of as much as P28.5 billion in the past three years.

“With the approval of the BOI of the project, which has an annual stock capacity of 25,453 heads for parent stock and 3,647 metric tons for slaughter hogs, and 21,847MT chicken, this will no doubt lead to the local industries’ eventual collapse,” So lamented.

So said that the “tsunami-like” proportion of meat products that the multinational company will flood the local market is expected to annihilate the backyard, small and medium growers.

“With [President Benigno] Aquino [3rd] administration’s approval of the investment of CP into the swine and poultry sectors, it has effectively signed the death sentence of the local growers. Local growers cannot compete with a multinational company like CP because the state is not all out in helping them,” he said, warning that some seven million Filipinos working in the agri-business sector could also be displaced.

Tax holiday
“Worse, the local growers would not enjoy the luxury of tax holidays given to CP,” he added.

On top of tax incentives, CP will also enjoy exemption in payment of taxes and duties on imported breeding stocks and genetic materials within 10 years from commercial operation.

Rep. Nicanor Briones of AGAP party-list said that the Investment board move might also be a violation of existing anti-dumping laws in the country.

“With BOI’s approval of CP investment in the area of agri-business, the anti-dumping law has effectively become useless. It allowed CP to effectively dominate the market, to the prejudice of the local hog and poultry industry,” Briones said.

Republic Act 8752, or the Anti-Dumping Act of 1999, provides protection to a domestic industry, which is being injured or is likely to be injured by the dumping of products imported into or sold in the country.

The project is already CP’s third in the country following its recent investment in aqua feeds and breeder and slaughter hogs.

So said that the livestock industry provided millions of employment to Filipinos nationwide, even if the government has not subsidized its operations. “So why put the country’s food security in foreign hands out to kill an industry crippled by smugglers?” the SDC executive asked.