Philippines may face pork shortage this Christmas

The Philippines may face a pork shortage this Christmas after the public and private sectors separately failed to secure supply commitments from abroad. Meat importers and traders failed to secure commitments because their suppliers may be unable to meet the deadline set by the Department of Agriculture (DA), an industry official said. Pork sourced from the US, Canada, and Europe – the same countries where traders sought to procure supplies – takes 60 days to arrive in the Philippines, Jesus Cham, president of the Meat Importers and Traders Association (MITA). Traders and importers were given up to December 15 to bring in as much as 2.5 million kilos of the commodity, the government said. However, no company from any of the three countries agreed to export that much pork to the Philippines within the specified time period. In the meantime, two weather disturbances – which destroyed crops and livestock – have forced the government to import as much as 20,000 metric tons of pork. However, government pork imports may still be unable to meet demand because local hog production shortfall has reached 30,000 metric tons. Cham also disclosed that the Food Terminal Inc., an agency subsumed under the Department of Agriculture (DA), has sought offers from companies to supply pork to ensure sufficient inventories during the Christmas season. The two tenders were scheduled on October 14 and 20 but both biddings reportedly failed. Agriculture and FTI officials refused to comment on this development. The government allotted P550 million to import 4,000 metric tons of various pork parts including pork belly (liempo), ham (pigue), picnic (kasim), and various types of “cuts acceptable to the procuring entity." Shipments are expected to arrive on or before November, based on the terms of reference, but it was moved to a later date that has yet to be announced. The deadline is currently being re-evaluated, Agriculture undersecretary Bernie Fondevilla said. “We will discuss this and come up with a decision ASAP," Fondevilla said a text message. Local hog raisers allayed a supply shortfall, asserting that domestic production will be able to cover the gap should imports fail to arrive on time. Mindanao has many hogs but bringing them to Manila “is not that cheap," National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc. (NFHFI) President Albert Lim, Jr. said. Shipping companies levy P15 per kilo of pork from Mindanao to Manila. - GMANews.TV