Gov’t keeps low meat tariff to ease inflation
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has opted to maintain lowered tariffs on imported deboned chicken and turkey meat until December 2024 in an apparent bid to control food price inflation.
“The high inflation prompted by supply constraints, expected shortage in the global supply, and rise in international commodity prices present economic and trade implications to the country and the Filipino people,” read Executive Order No. 13 that the President signed on Jan. 13.
Headline inflation hit 8.1 percent in December and keeping it slower than 10 percent may also slow down interest rates—now at a 14-year high of 5.5 percent—which affect the cost of money and job generation.
Another interest rate hike
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla already announced that its Monetary Board (MB) may have another increase of 25 up to 50 basis points during the MB’s first policy meeting on Feb. 16. The monetary tightening is in response to similar moves by other central banks, particularly the US Federal Reserve, which has maintained a policy of “quantitative easing” over most of the past two decades, to prevent a global recession.
Keeping the tariff on mechanically deboned meat (MDM) of chicken and turkey—used by makers of hotdogs, luncheon meat and other canned meat products—will “ensure the continued supply of essential food products at affordable prices, diversify the country’s market sources and help businesses recover and sustain their operations,” EO 13 read.
The Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) lauded the President’s decision and said it would help provide consumers with affordable meat products.
“We look forward to the day when domestic producers would be able to produce MDM in commercial volumes so that we can revive and expand our support to the local agriculture sector,” said Felix Tiukinhoy, president of Pampi.
But Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) objected and said “at no point in the last two years did lowering the tariff on mechanically deboned meat result in reduced prices.”
Sinag executive director Jayson Cainglet said “the injustice being suffered by the livestock industry will continue as the concession in lowering MDM tariff was a historical injustice to the livestock industry, poultry raisers and local agriculture sector.”
