Wild rumpus in the chicken industry

The next time you go to the supermarket for a supply run, make sure to check the frozen meat section.

You will notice the marked down prices of chicken products, way below the usual retail prices. A kilogram of chicken leg quarters, for instance, is now available at P69 compared to its local counterpart selling at P110 per kilo.

This is what the fuss is all about from poultry producers in recent days. Chicken imports are flooding the market and hurting the local industry. They’re not imagining things. Consumers, of course, appreciate the cheap prices but there’s reason for the local poultry players to cry foul. ‘Bizarre’

Let’s try to dissect, or should I say, debone this whole issue surrounding the chicken industry.

I asked my sources why this is happening and I got copies of a June 15 letter sent by the United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA) to Agriculture Secretary William Dar.

What they’re really crying foul about is that chicken imports are hurting them at a time when the business environment is already difficult because of the negative impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic.

To make things worse, they’ve been asked to regulate local production.

“After saying there was no need to suspend imports, the Bureau of Agricultural Industries (BAI) then proceeded to recommend to us to self-regulate and limit local production,” the letter read.

“In the kindest possible terms, this is one of the most bizarre thinking that ever emanated from the Department of Agriculture (DA). The incongruence is glaring. At a time when the Secretary of Agriculture, together with key economic managers, are encouraging local production, the BAI is telling a key industry to limit production so as to make space for imports.”

Even Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto wonders why we need to encourage imports now when there is sufficient supply.

“At a time when we have to ramp up agricultural production in order to put affordable food on the table of Filipinos who have lost jobs, why this counterintuitive suggestion to limit production of the country’s main protein source?” Recto said.

“And why should an agency whose sole mandate is to boost food production advise Filipino chicken raisers to scale down their output to give market space for dressed chicken coming from abroad?”

The industry said the two questions raised by Recto “crystallize the plight of the broiler industry, in particular, and Philippine Agriculture in general.”

The controversial debate on chicken importation prompted other lawmakers to join the fray. Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co even called on Secretary Dar to fire BAI officials due to alleged bias toward chicken importation to the detriment of Filipino farmers.

Even before the Luzon wide lockdown, Co noted chicken prices have fallen to precariously low levels of between P60 to P70 per kilo, which is unsustainable.

“Thus, allowing more imports from unknown sources at a time of local oversupply is shady, unpatriotic and poses severe health hazards to Filipino consumers,” he said. WTO commitments

In its letter, industry players lamented the “pervading mindset” of the agriculture department, particularly, regarding our free trade commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“The WTO commitments have become an excuse to feign helplessness and, worse, to push for the agenda of the importers,” it said.

“It has become the perpetual excuse to do nothing and just leave farmers and producers to be slaughtered by commodities from countries with heavily subsidized agricultural systems.”

In 2000, the late Senator Edgardo Angara, then DA Secretary, suspended chicken importation when the industry was on the brink of collapse after suffering enormous losses because of unfair competition from imports and smuggling.

This was at the height of the ideological power of free trade as embodied by the WTO, which we entered into in 1995. An importer took him to court, but the case did not prosper. Trade obligations The agriculture department has reiterated that the country has trade obligations. A suspension of the trade commitments would merit an investigation to prove that imports are indeed hurting the industry.

But that said, Secretary Dar said the department understands the plight of the local players and has maintained dialogues with them. Helping the industry

It is true that the Philippines cannot simply suspend imports because we acceded to the WTO trade agreements. But for the industry, timing can make a lot of difference. “Why is it that DA can announce that it will time the entry of imports so that it will not coincide with the harvest of onions and rice? Why can’t the same thing be done for chicken in times of oversupply?” industry players said in their letter.

Of course, amidst all this, consumers now have more choices, whether to buy the cheap chicken product or stick to their preferred local brands. But the government should also not forget the big picture. At a time when the economy is struggling to survive the havoc wrought by the pandemic, we should be supporting local producers.

Let us not forget that, whether it’s the poultry, hog raisers, or garments industries, local players provide jobs to tens of thousands of Filipinos. This, we badly need at this time. Especially at this time.

Iris Gonzales’ email address is eyesgonzales@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at eyesgonzales.com