RP hog, poultry sector cites production pressures

MANILA, Philippines - Hog and poultry farmers face increasingly difficult conditions with lack of feeds, impacting production amid increasing competition from within Southeast Asia. "We are preparing for competition with imports from the region, but we cannot reduce the production cost if there is a tight supply [of swine and poultry produce]," Gregorio A. San Diego, Jr., chairman and president of the United Broilers and Raisers Association (UBRA), told reporters in a briefing Wednesday. For instance, the industry faces influx of poultry meat from Thailand, which currently costs P43 per kilo-gram, a third lower than the P64/kg-65/kg. of chicken in the domestic market. Under the country’s commitment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Free Trade Area-Common Effective Preferential Tariff scheme, the tariff rate on swine and poultry meat imports will be cut to 5% next year from 20% this year and from 30% last year. Mr. San Diego said the drop in output might come as a result of the lack of animal feeds due to the current tight supply of yellow corn — the main ingredient for feeds. Poultry production may decline this year by 20% from the 523,000 metric tons expected last year, Mr. San Diego said. Furthermore, hog production, which the government had expected to grow by 4% this year, might actually contract, said Renato R. Eleria, chairman of the National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc. (NFHFI). The government’s Inter-Agency Committee on Rice and Corn late last week rejected the joint request of the NFHFI, UBRA, and the Philippine Association of Feed Millers, Inc. to import 300,000 metric tons of yellow corn — the primary ingredient in animal feeds — duty-free, citing tight supply in the domestic market. "We cannot prevent poultry and hog farms from closing," Mr. Eleria said. "If this happens, food supply and consumption will be affected." Roger V. Navarro, president of Philippine Maize Federation, Inc., admitted the tight supply, citing delays in planting due to change in weather patterns and the high cost of fertilizers discouraged corn farmers from planting last year. He noted that corn prices now range from P16/kg-17/kg, lower than the P24/kg-P26/kg cited by feed millers. — Neil Jerome C. Morales, BusinessWorld