THE Philippines has opened its market for the entry of American bovine embryos, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) said.
On May 19, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) on May 19 and USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service finalized the health protocol for the importation of said commodities.
The move is crucial in order to level the playing field of exporters from the US with those from Australia and Canada in enjoying a most favored nation tariff rate of one percent.
However, importers may also receive a zero duty under the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act subject to submission of a certificate of eligibility or certificate of accreditation issued by the Philippine Department of Agriculture.
Importers must first secure a sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance from BAI’s National Veterinary Quarantine Services as products must not be shipped before its issuance but must be transported no later than 60 days following its grant.
“Industry contacts report that sales of US bovine embryos could reach $400,000 within the year, specifically to support the dairy industry and for use by agricultural colleges and research institutions. However, opportunities for embryo use by the private sector and for the beef industry as a whole are currently limited,” the document further stated.
It said opportunities for increased sales in the Philippines are expected to open up in the next two to three years with new government initiatives being implemented to expand the local beef and dairy production.
At present, the country’s beef and dairy industry is considered small as total cattle inventory as of January 2020 stood at 2.5 million heads, with approximately 25,900 (10 percent) in dairy cattle and 10,600 (5 percent) in dairy cows.
About 90 percent of beef and dairy inventories are held by smallholder farms or those with less than 20 heads which is also affected by the lack of available grazing land and high feed costs, among others.
