THE MEAT industry said a government ban on poultry imports from the US and Canada will cause chicken prices to surge, adding that a bird flu outbreak in North America is not sufficient reason to issue a blanket ban.
“With virtually all sources in Europe already banned due to avian influenza (AI), the only source countries left with sizeable production capacity are the US, Brazil and Canada. A further ban on the US and Canada is surely going to cause an increase in the cost of the most basic and affordable processed meats,” the Meat Importers and Traders Association (MITA) said in a statement.
“Imposing a country-wide ban on nations that have a huge land mass is unwarranted and not supported by any risk assessment. Furthermore, the whole world is now facing inflationary pressures that also threaten our food security,” it added.
MITA said the meat processing industry is reliant on deboned chicken and is suffering from the delay of sanitary and phytosanitary permits needed to ship in farm produce.
“We are concerned with the long delay in the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary permits for US and Canadian poultry. Some of our members have been waiting for three weeks when it should not take more than 2 to 3 days to secure a permit,” it said.
“We understand there is concern with the detection of AI in both countries. However, AI is a notifiable disease and both countries have containment and stamping out procedures in place… both countries are totally transparent with their current situation and course of action,” it added.
The group said the three-week delay in the issuance of import permits will cause a supply gap and a spike in chicken prices.
“We strongly urge your office to immediately process and release permits for US and Canadian poultry sourced from areas not affected by bird flu,” MITA said.
Separately, the Department of Agriculture said it is working on containing the Philippines’ own bird flu outbreak.
The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), confirmed the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 strain on Jan. 6 in Baliwag, Bulacan, the first reported case in the country.
BAI Director Reildrin G. Morales said the bureau is monitoring the chicken and turkey flock, after conducting a cull of quail and duck within the radius of potential exposure.
“We enjoin all poultry raisers and farm workers to observe and implement necessary biosecurity measures and cooperate with temporary movement restrictions that may be applied in affected areas to prevent incursion of the disease in their facilities and farms,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said in a statement.
“We assure the general public that the risk of catching H5N1 is very low. Poultry meat and its products are safe to eat,” he added. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson
