Lawmakers urged to ease restriction on pork imports
FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd has called on lawmakers to support President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive allowing increased pork imports at lower tariff rates for a temporary period, according to the Department of Finance (DoF).
In a statement on Tuesday, the DoF said Dominguez made the call saying that as the chairman of the Cabinet’s Economic Development Cluster, he was taking full responsibility for supporting and recommending that President Duterte sign Executive Order 128.
For a year, imported pork will be slapped with 5 percent to 20 percent from the current 30 percent to 40 percent. The existing tariff rate for pork imports will be restored after the 12th month.
Dominguez pointed out the period of the tariff adjustment under the EO emphasizes that “this is a short-term effort that does not aim to harm the domestic industry” and is actually “complementary to the programs of the Department of Agriculture in helping the domestic hog industry to recover.”
The Finance department noted that pork prices in the National Capital Region have already reached as high as P327 per kilo in March 2021, which is 59 percent higher compared to last year.
On the contrary, the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) reiterated that more imports will not lead to decrease in prices, adding that any pork shortfall can be imported at the current tariff level.
In a separate statement, Sinag lamented the government’s push to increase Minimum Access Volume on pork imports and slash tariffs from 40 percent to 5 percent.
“Sinag maintains that any pork shortfall can be imported at the current tariff level, as even at current rates of 30 percent, importers already earn a profit of P200 to P250 a kilo. There is no need to incentivize importers and those that benefit from tongpats,” the group stressed.
MAYVELIN U. CARABALLO AND EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ