|
By Roderick T. dela Cruz
, Researcher
AN official of the Department of Agriculture has
clarified that it is legal to import buffalo meat or carabeef from
India as long as importers are able to meet the conditions of the
Paris-based Office International des Epizooties (OIE).
Undersecretary Cesar M. Drilon, head of the
Department of Agriculture’s livestock division, showed
journalists a copy of a letter from OIE Director General Bernard
Vallat who claimed that the international agency “does not
recommend that the importation of fresh meat be restricted to
countries free from the foot-and-mouth disease [FMD].”
Vallat, in his letter to Bureau of Animal
Industry (BAI) Director Jose Q. Molina dated December 11, 2003, said
meat may be safely imported from countries infected with FMD,
“provided that certain restrictions are applied to the animals
from which the meat is derived.”
Albert Lim, president of the influential
National Federation of Hog Farmers in the Philippines (NFHFP), has
earlier called for the ouster of Drilon for allowing the importation
of carabeef from India, which is an FMD-infected country.
Drilon said the Philippine government’s policy
concerning the importation of carabeef from India was based on the
OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code, particularly on Article 2.1.1.22
under its FMD Chapter which provided recommendations for the import
of beef from an FMD-infected country with a vaccination program.
The Terrestrial Code seeks to assure the
sanitary safety of international trade in terrestrial animals and
their products by providing detailed health measures that veterinary
authorities can use to prevent the transfer of agents pathogenic for
animals and humans, while avoiding unjustified sanitary barriers.
Under the Terrestrial Code, animal meat may be
imported from an FMD-infected country provided that the animals have
been vaccinated at least twice in compliance with requirements of
the Terrestrial Manual, that they have been kept in an establishment
more than 10 kilometers from any FMD outbreak site for the past 30
days and that they are slaughtered in an approved abattoir and
passed ante-mortem and post-mortem inspections for FMD.
“The Terrestrial Code also recommends that the
meat come from deboned carcasses and be submitted to maturation
process. Your requirement that the meet be processed after
import would provide an additional assurance of safety,” Vallat
said in his letter, a copy of which was also sent to the Philippine
Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi).
At present, the BAI allows the importation of
carabeef only for processing in the Philippines and prohibits its
direct consumption as table-grade meat at restaurants, hotels and
homes. In 2003, the country imported 52 million kilos of carabeef
from India, with most of the commodities shipped by International
Commodities Corp., a trading firm managed by Samuel V. Senoren.
Senoren, however, is calling on the government
to allow the importation of carabeef for direct consumption in the
Philippines to bring down what he described as excessive prices of
meat products in the country and to particularly serve Muslim
Mindanao where pork is not eaten.
He claimed that he could bring carabeef into the
country at P90 a kilo, much lower than the prices of pork ranging
from P130 to P150 a kilo.
However, the NFHFP was calling on the government
to totally ban the importation of Indian carabeef, which it claimed,
has been weighing hard on the P100-billion hog industry on which
some 3.6 million Filipinos are dependent.
The hog raisers were even lobbying for the
passage of Senate Bill No. 1004, which seeks to restrict the
importation of meat products from India and other countries infected
with FMD. The livestock sectors of the Philippines and India are
both suffering from the FMD problem.
In a letter sent to Sen. Ramon B. Magsaysay Jr.,
chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food last January,
the NFHFP called on the government to follow the lead of other
countries in banning meat imports from all countries infected with
FMD.
Hospicio S. Timbol, a senior veterinarian and
chair of the FMD technical team of the hog raisers association, said
the Philippines, while observing international standards, guidelines
and agreements in FMD control, must “fine tune its own line of
defense against FMD, or any other threat to animal health.”
Among the countries that have been extremely
careful in banning any and all importation of meat and animals from
FMD-infected areas are the US, Japan, England, Australia, Germany,
and France.
“This is clearly above and beyond OIE
guidelines that allow importation of meat and animals from FMD
infected countries contingent on observance of certain protocols,”
the hog raisers group admitted.
The FMD virus spreads from one location to
another through illegal movements of infected animals or meats.
The FMD strain sero type O “Cathay” developed into an epidemic
that resulted in a P2.3-billion loss for the local swine industry in
1995. Since then the FMD remains a threat to the industry and
causes an annual damage estimated at P542 million.
Because of high prices of Australian beef, the
P60-billion local meat processing industry began importing 9 million
kilos of the cheaper carabeef in 1993. Carabeef is processed
into corned beef, hotdogs, other sausages, meat loaf, tocinos,
burger patties and other meat products.
Drilon said that at present, a kilo of Indian
carabeef is priced at $1.15, much lower than the $1.75 for a kilo of
beef from Brazil and $2.75 for a kilo of beef from Australia.
He warned that a ban on Indian carabeef would double the price of
canned goods in the Philippines.
Prices of pork are also high at $2 to $2.20 a
kilo in South Korea and $1.4 to $1.6 a kilo in Germany.
Carabeef is levied a tariff rate of 10 percent, lower than the 30 to
40 percent for imported pork.
Senoren said carabeef importation allowed
Filipinos an access to cheap corned beef, which could be bought for
as low as P10 for every can. Francisco J. Buencamino,
executive director of Pampi said corned beef was sold at P42 to P50
a can 15 years ago. Because of a drop in prices, data from
Pampi showed that sales of corned beef hit 8 billion cans last year
from only 1 billion cans in 1993.
“Fifteen years ago, no one in the provinces
could afford corned beef for their day-to-day meals. It was simply
too expensive as a viand,” Buencamino said. “Now, Pampi
members are producing corned beef or karne norte for as low as P10 a
can, which when added with vegetables can feed a family of five or
six nowadays.”
The warring faction of NFHFP led by Lim and
Pampi celebrated their anniversaries on the same day of April 2. The
hog farmers held its 13th Annual Convention and Exhibition at
Megatrade Hall 2 of SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City, while the meat
processors celebrated its 15th Anniversary and Induction of Officers
and Directors at Vivere Suites in Alabang, Muntinlupa City.
Last week’s verbal spat between the
influential livestock groups reached alarming levels, as accusations
about smuggling and monopoly cast a dark shadow on the concept of
food security in the country.
With prices of pork hitting an unprecedented
level of P150 a kilo this year, representing a 30-percent increase
over the year-ago figure, a meat supplier ranted about the Arroyo
government’s complacent attitude.
“In previous years, a 10-percent inflation
rate on meat would make the government panic. Now, prices of
meat went up by more than 30 percent, and the government is
apparently not bothered at all,” the supplier said.
The meat processors accused the hog raisers of
trying to monopolize the local meat market by asking them to source
all their raw materials from them. “If Pampi gets all its supplies
from local hog raisers, how much could they sell their hotdogs,
corned beef and other processed meat?” asked Buencamino.
The dispute was reminiscent of the bickering
between the same group of hog raisers and the Meat and Hog Dealers
Association of the Philippines (MHDAP), leading to a “pig
holiday” that cut off meat supply in the local market by 70
percent in early March.
|
