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Govt takes steps to ensure chicken supply for Christmas


To ensure enough supply of chicken for the Christmas season, agriculture officials will meet this coming week with broilers and chicken producers to discuss the matter. Department of Agriculture (DA) Assistant Secretary Salvador Salacup said the agency wants regular monitoring of the commodity's supply, especially in this time of year. “Next week inutusan ang Bureau of Animal Industries at Assistant Secretary Davinio Catbagan na pulungin ang mga magmamanok para alamin ang sitwasyon nila (BAI under Assistant Secretary Davinio Catbagan has instructions to meet with chicken producers to get an idea of their situation)," Salacup said in an interview on dzBB radio. “Instruction ni [secretary], bagama’t sabi ng prducers kailangan every month, i-monitor naming yan (Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala has ordered a monthly monitoring of chicken supply despite the producers’ assurances of stable supply)," he added. Salacup also said the BAI has instructions to investigate reports of a “midnight importation" of chicken last June, saying the government has not approved any special importation request since January. He noted producers and broilers had already assured there will be enough supply of chicken for the Christmas season, a time when demand for the commodity usually goes up. On the other hand, he appealed to consumers to buy locally produced chicken. Meanwhile, Salacup said chicken producers have used up 63 percent of the country’s minimum access volume for chicken importation so far this year. The Philippines is entitled to a minimum access volume of 23,000 metric tons of chicken per year, under the World Trade Organization (WTO). “Yan nirereserba if there is a spike in demand. Christmas period asahan natin maraming gagamit niyan (The importation access is reserved for times when there is a spike in demand. We expect chicken producers and importers to use up the quota during the Christmas period)," Salacup said. “If the private sector players want to bring in chicken or chicken parts they can do so ... but have to pay the proper taxes, 35-percent tariff," he added. — LBG, GMANews.TV

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