Various agricultural groups have called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) anew to quickly act on the unabated importation of chicken as this continues to displace local poultry production and its allied services and products, resulting in billions worth of lost sales.
In an open letter by the United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA) and the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) with other stakeholders, the groups said 338.12 million kilograms of imported chicken meat entered the country last year, against a local production of 281,767,500 heads of broilers at 1.2 kg. dressed weight.
“…The DA through the Bureau of Animal Industry, the agency responsible for our sector, seems to be complacent about our industry’s plight. In a meeting by the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries, they said that the volume of imports is smaller than the volume of production. Effectively, the message being sent was we do not have a problem,” said Jose Elias Inciong, UBRA president.
Inciong added they have been compelled to present evidence-based quantifiable data especially since imported meats come as finished products and skip the local production chain which generates businesses and labor for Filipinos.
The stakeholders also mentioned such problem could have been resolved if the government would already implement a data system that will enable stakeholders to make informed decisions, as mandated by the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act.
They also said basing on 2019 chicken meat import figures and lost day old chicken production, it dislodged P4.6 billion worth of domestic sales of broilers as well as P37 billion from production component including labor salaries, electricity, feed sales, vet products, liquefied petroleum gas and operations of dressing plants.
For 2019 alone, the surge in imports caused P14.09 billion worth of avoided chicken feeds component which also caused a P7.14 billion loss in domestic corn sales, the groups added.
UBRA and PCAFI also noted other local value chains affected by the continuing import surge: P3.38 billion worth of salary for poultry workers, P8.73 billion for hatchery and dressing operations, P4.2 billion for logistics, and P15.82 billion lost income from sales of chicken by products including intestine, feet, blood, neck and head.
Earlier, the DA said by the end of the year, chicken meat supply in the country is expected to be good for 253 days.
