DA to spend P180-M to build ‘AAA’ slaughterhouses

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is spending at least P180 million to put up 5 triple “A" slaughterhouses in major hog-raising areas nationwide, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said on Monday. “The Office of the President will help us in the construction of triple ‘A’ slaughterhouses and the installation of blast freezing equipment to improve the sector’s competitiveness," Alcala said in his speech at the Meat Safety Consciousness Week opening ceremony held in Quezon City. The agriculture secretary said the government has the capability to construct the slaughterhouses and install the blast freezing equipment. In the next couple of weeks, government officials are meeting with the private sector to discuss the mechanics for the construction and operation of the top-grade abattoirs. Construction of the slaughterhouses may commence in the first quarter of 2012, said the National Meat Inspection Service. Cold Chain Association of the Philippines president Anthony Dizon said about P50 million was needed for the procurement and installation of the blast freezing equipment. Private sector participation On the other hand, the Pork Producers Federation (Propork) and the Philippine Association of Meat Processors, Inc. (Pampi) are urging government to allow the private sector to operate the abattoirs. Meat from “AAA" abattoirs are generally regarded as being of the highest quality and could be exported. Propork president Edwin Chen said his group will recommend the construction of the triple “"A slaughterhouses in major hog-raising areas in Regions III and IV in Luzon. Livestock stakeholders want government to build more “AAA" abattoirs and cold storage facilities to fully comply with the Association of Southeast Asian Nation free-trade scheme, which started in January 2010. Chen also said hog raisers were now willing to sell pork parts instead of whole carcasses to meat processors, to make the local sector more competitive against imports. Last year, the Philippines imported some 177,000 metric tons of meat products, according to the Agriculture Department. — MRT/VS, GMA News