Farmers score Duterte ‘betrayal’

Farmers and other agricultural groups scored President Duterte for his “betrayal [of] the millions of hog raisers and workers dependent on the hog industry” after he cut the tariffs on imported pork for 12 months.

“There are no words to express the outrage and betrayal to the millions of hog raisers and workers dependent on the hog industry,” said Rosendo So, chair of the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura.

“The pleas of the whole agriculture sector, as well as the Senate and the House leadership, have fallen on deaf ears,” So added, referring to the congressional opposition to the easing of import ceilings the government announced in March.

Under Executive Order No. 128, pork imports under the import ceilings, or minimum access volume (MAV), will be slapped a tariff of 5 percent for the next three months and 10 percent for the succeeding nine months, from the current rate of 30 percent.

For pork imports in excess of the MAV, tariffs will be slashed to 15 percent for the next three months and 20 percent for the succeeding months from the current 40 percent.

“These [will] kill the industry,” said Chester Warren Tan, president and chair of the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc.

Tan said the President’s move to incentivize importers more than local producers would discourage backyard raisers, who produce 71 percent of the country’s pork inventory, from reinvesting in the industry.

But the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) said Duterte’s decision was a “victory for the millions of Filipino consumers” because it would bring down high pork prices that were driven by the African swine fever that the government failed to stamp out.

Pampi said hog producers should also import pork products “to recover part of their losses.”

“It’s a big win for the economy and the consumers,” said Jesus Cham, president of the Meat Importers Traders Association. “The (suggested retail prices) are now possible for consumers. Processors and hospitality and catering sectors will also benefit greatly.”

Naive

But Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, who opposed the tariff cut, disagreed and warned that lowering pork tariffs would “harm the domestic industry” and benefit only a handful of importers and big-time traders.

“It’s naïve to think that traders will sell at lower prices just because imports are priced more cheaply,” he said, adding that traders were pocketing up to 110 percent in gross margins.

“What would stop them from just taking more?” he asked.

“We already know what happens when we do these adjustments. Domestic industry suffers at a higher rate than the price level goes down,” he said, citing the effect of the rice tariffication wherein farmers took a bigger price cut for their produce than the average consumer saved in rice prices.

Salceda said the price differential between imported pork at about P190 after duties and the domestic price of about P300-P400 per kilo should have been enough incentive to import.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said he and local hog producers were “utterly disappointed” at Eo 128, signed by the President on April 7 and vowed to investigate allegations that government officials were profiting from meat imports.

“The reasons [agriculture officials] are giving for the lowering of taxes is not acceptable. There must be something else,” Sotto said.

“The MAV could have been raised but not the lowering of tariff,” Sotto said, adding that EO 128 is “bad news” for the local hog industry.

Sen. Cynthia Villar, chair of the Senate committee on agriculture who earlier opposed tariff cuts also disagreed with the President’s decision.

“I don’t agree but this is his decision as President. The tariff is low already, and I do not think there is a need to bring down the tariff anymore,” she said. —WITH REPORTS FROM NESTOR CORRALES AND MELVIN GASCON