LGU ban imperils P300B processed meat industry

Prices of processed pork products could go up as global pork prices rise due to the ASF

The African swine flu scare has forced some under the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. to cut down on the production of queso de bola, a key input in the manner Filipinos celebrate Christmas, on fears of prospectively lower demand.

The total ban on processed meat products imposed by some local government units (LGU) in light of the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak is “unnecessary” and could reduce the P300 billion meat processing industry by 5 to 10 percent, as well as affect its 150,000-people workforce, industry representatives said.

The Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (PAMPI) in a Friday briefing sought aid from the government under President Duterte to come up with guidelines to facilitate the movement, distribution and sale of processed meat products in the country amid the AFP “scare.”

The group said this will ensure the national economy and food security will not be jeopardized by the LGUs’ ban on pork products made on the basis of “confusing/conflicting guidelines.” Cebu and Bohol, who make up 10 to 15 percent of PAMPI’s national sales, has banned pork and pork products.

PAMPI reiterated that their products are “safe and wholesome” and are not affected by the ASF, which in itself is not known to pose any risk to humans even if it’s proven fatal for pigs. The presence of the virus has been recorded in Rizal, Bulacan and Quezon City, prompting the government to contain it by culling. There is no known treatment or vaccine for the ASF yet.

“The total ban is something that we think is unnecessary. The conditional bans — we agree with them, but they should be implementable and there should be unified guidelines on how to do this,” PAMPI spokesman Rex Agarrado said in a briefing at the Quezon Memorial Circle, Friday.

Citing data from the World Organization for Animal Health, Agarrado said the ASF virus is killed by heat at 56 degrees Celsius for 70 minutes and 60 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes. Processed meat or pork-based products, meanwhile, are cooked at higher temperatures ranging from 70 degrees Celsius to 116 degrees Celsius for 40 to 60 minutes.

But while the process already incapacitates the virus, Agarrado added that processors only use local or foreign raw pork materials from ASF-free sources, as the Philippines has also banned importation from other countries with known ASF cases.

Moreover, Agarrado said halting pork importation is not the answer to the ASF outbreak, as the country is dependent on imports to fill its total meat requirement. The country imported 392,000 metric tons (MT) of pork last year, or 24 percent of the 1,280,000 million MT of boneless meat used for production. Additionally, the processors also needed specific meat cuts which local slaughterhouses could not adequately provide yet.

Meanwhile, according to PAMPI vice president Jerome Ong, who is also president and chief executive officer of CDO Foodsphere, Inc., some producers have cut down production of Christmas ham by 15 to 20 percent due to worries that this year’s demand will fall short of their usual supply.

He noted that prices of processed pork products could go up as global pork prices rise due to the ASF. Economic giant China, who is affected by the virus, in July alone imported 107 percent higher tons of pork, pushing world market prices up with the rising demand.