Dressed chicken for sale at a stall in Paco Public Market in Manila. This photo was taken in 2022. (File photo by GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Quezon Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga on Tuesday urged the House of Representatives to probe the alleged over-importation or dumping of chicken, causing an oversupply in local markets.
“I call on the Department of Finance, Department of Trade and Industry, and Department of Agriculture to urgently ascertain, motu proprio, whether the specific conditions of dumping and over-importation of chicken exist right now in the third quarter, based on their databases and field reports, and could affect the market in the fourth quarter,” Enverga, chairperson of Committee on Agriculture and Food, said in a statement.
Citing the United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA), the lawmaker explained: “Oversupply remains a problem resulting in a further downtrend in farmgate prices,”
He added that the Department of Agriculture (DA) projected a chicken surplus for 114 days by year-end.
Enverga also cited a report from the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), a nongovernment organization, explaining that small and medium-scale industries “are more vulnerable to steep price hikes and drops.”
According to PRRM, massive importation, which lowers prices, affects small community-based chicken producers and their medium-scale partners since their “big brother” partner company can no longer afford their buying price.
“Today, data from the National Meat Inspection Service showed 50,000 metric tons of dressed chicken as of May. Of that, almost 75 percent or 36,300 MT are imported, and only 14,400 MT are from local production,” the statement reads, citing PRRM.
It added that the government should significantly reduce chicken importation and monitor the total inventory as it manages and maintains “a less than 10-day inventory level.”
In May, some groups urged the Philippine government to impose a short-term moratorium on the issuance of import permits for chicken, saying that the supply is “in excess.”
The groups said that “over importation” as well as the supposed continuous smuggling of other farm commodities have resulted in excessive supply.
The Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement also suggested a short moratorium on chicken imports so as not to adversely affect local producers.