The Meat Importers and Traders Association (Mita) called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) to cease its pork import safeguard probe due to ‘lack’ of evidence that the arrival of foreign products injured the domestic hog industry.
Mita President Emeritus Jesus Cham made the pronouncement after the DA initiated an investigation into preliminary safeguard measures on imported pork, which may result in additional tariffs or import restrictions to protect the domestic hog industry.
In a letter to the DA dated October 16, Cham said the DA should terminate the investigation, noting the lack of prima facie evidence that pork imports caused injury to the hog sector.
‘While Mita supports the local swine industry’s long-term rehabilitation, the legal and
economic prerequisites mandated under RA [Republic Act] 8800 to establish prima facie evidence-specifically, a recent, sharp, and significant import surge directly causing serious injury-are absent,’ his letter read.
He added that imposing provisional safeguard duties would ‘unnecessarily reignite’ consumer food inflation, destabilize raw material pipelines for local food manufacturers, and undermine the policy stability under Executive Order (EO) 62.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported recently that inflation rate in September surged to 7.2 percent from 1.7 percent a year ago. Its data showed that 11 of the 13 commodity groups monitored by the agency recorded faster price increases during the period led by food and non-alcoholic beverages, for which inflation accelerated to 6.7 percent from 4.6 percent and accounted for 73.4 percent of the month’s increase.
Further, Mita also called on the DA to refrain from recommending or applying provisional safeguard duties and maintain the existing tariff rates under EO 62.
Cham added that this would protect consumer purchasing power and maintain raw material security for food manufacturing.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Tiu Laurel Jr. said in his October 19 letter to Department of Foreign Affairs (DOF) Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro that ‘the DA determined that prima facie evidence exists to warrant initiating the preliminary safeguard measures investigation to establish the existence and extent of serious injury or threat thereof, and the causal link between increased imports and injury.’
The investigation covers shipments of fresh, chilled and frozen pork, as well as offals and fats, under HS codes 0203, 0206, and 0209 from 2021 to August 2026.
The agency said its initial assessment identified several indicators of potential harm to the local industry.
This includes declining farmgate prices and producer income, shrinking market share and self-sufficiency, rising import penetration, and growing commercial inventories.
‘These findings could strengthen the case for safeguards, but the investigation must establish whether increased imports are sufficiently linked to the reported injury,’ the DA said.
‘The initiation itself does not constitute a final determination that foreign shipments are responsible, nor does it automatically impose additional duties or other restrictions.’