Villar ready to probe over-importation of chicken: Import what is only needed

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Cynthia Villar has expressed readiness to lead a Senate inquiry on the alleged over-importation of chicken.

“If the poultry industry will write a letter to me questioning the determination of the import quantity, then I will conduct the hearing,” Villar, head of the Senate committee on agriculture, said in a statement on Tuesday.

Her remark was in response to a reporter’s query regarding the reported oversupply of chicken in the local markets supposedly due to over-importation.

“DA [Department of Agriculture] should not over-import. They know the shortage from PSA [Philippine Statistics Authority] data, they should import what is only needed,” the senator added.

Should there be a hearing in the Senate, Villar said she would call on officials of the PSA and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to discuss the local supply and demand of chicken and the issuance of importation permits.

“I will also call on those in the poultry [industry] to know their opinion,” Villar said.

Her counterpart in the House of Representatives, Quezon Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga, already sought in September an inquiry on the same matter. 

Just last month, the United Broiler Raisers Association warned that the poultry industry could lose billions of pesos as the importation of chicken is expected to reach “another record high” in the last half of the year.

Data from the BAI reportedly showed that in the first eight months of 2023, the country bought 289.52 million kilograms (kg) of chicken overseas.

This is up from 244.8 million kg in the same period last year, the same data showed.

READ: Poultry industry fears losses from chicken imports