US trade group cautions against blanket ban on pork products

'If you ban all imports, where are you going to get it?'

WASHINGTON — The Philippines should think twice about imposing a total blanket ban on all pork imports amid African swine fever cases in the country that could affect domestic supply in the near term.

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), which represents 42 affiliated state associations in the US, said it is difficult to understand why the Philippines would consider such a move.


"If it is not science-based, it is very hard to understand why a government would move forward with a ban on products that don't have ASF. Something that is just based on gut feeling is bad," NPPC director for International Affairs Maria Zieba said in a meeting here.

"We want it to be rules-based and we want others to treat us fairly and we treat others fairly, especially on the pork side. I think we have a very good trajectory of being good partners and we don’t want to jeopardize that in any way," she added.

The Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) is urging Agriculture Secretary William Dar to suspend the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) permits for pork imports and cancel all SPS currently being processed.

Dar, however, has yet to address the call of the umbrella group of subsectors in the agriculture sector.

"Countries have been allowed to protect their respective local agriculture in times of outbreak. Under WTO rules, there is always that assumption of regularity in any policy of the national government," Sinag chairman Rosendo So said.

"The source of the ASF are these tainted pork imports," he added.

Currently, the Philippines is instituting a ban on imports from China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, North Korea, Laos, Russia, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Moldova, South Africa, Zambia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belgium, Latvia, Poland, Germany and Romania.

"If you ban all imports, where are you going to get it?" Zieba countered.

Pork supply in Philippines enough?

Local stakeholders are claiming that they can supply all the requirements of the Philippines for pork but this may not be entirely true as the country continues to import every year.

From January to July this year, US exported 21,767 metric tons (MT) of pork to the Philippines, down by 19% from the 27,026 MT from the same period last year.

For the first seven months, the value of US pork exports to Philippines went down by 23% to $50 million from $64.7 million recorded in 2018.

Last year, total US pork exports stood at $64.7 billion.

"The Philippines is really an important market for us. We have been developing it for the last decades. Asia is quite important for as a market as a whole. China is our biggest market," Zieba said.

"Unfortunately, our exports to China and Hong Kong are suffering because we are in the middle of trade dispute," she added.

For this year, US exports to the Philippines will likely remain on the same level.

"It would be very similar to last year. It could trend up a bit for the holiday season," Zieba said.

The US has maintained that it is ready to supply the Philippines its pork requirements amid a potential shortfall due to the ASF.

"Absolutely. Our production is growing two percent annually. There is plenty of room and being out of the Chinese market, it creates a lot of opportunities for us to export to somebody else's market," Zieba said.

Pork industry in the US contributes $40 billion in its economy. Last year, it slaughtered 124 million pigs producing 11.79 billion kilograms of pork.

About 40% of its exports goes to Canada and Mexico while big recipient of products in Asia are Japan, Korea, China and Hong Kong.

San Miguel Foods: Our pork is safe

Meanwhile, San Miguel Foods Inc., a unit of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp., has assured the government and the public that its products are safe to eat and are not affected by the ASF.

The company emphasized that it follows the strictest animal health and biosecurity protocols and that its chilled, frozen, and processed pork are produced from company-controlled hog breeding, growing, slaughtering, and manufacturing facilities.

Meanwhile, all hogs are fed with sanitized feeds from its B-MEG plants using raw materials that are checked for contaminants that may affect food safety.

"Our hog growing farms are kept separate from our breeding animals in order to minimize cross contamination and break potential disease cycles. Our animal health programs are preventive in nature and are centered around biosecurity, disinfection and vaccination," the company said.

"Regular surveillance for diseases through laboratory testing of blood and tissue samples are done to detect any incidence of disease and develop prevention and control measures before each instance develops into an outbreak situation," it added.

San Miguel have not detected positive reactors in any of its farms nationwide after it tested for ASF using polymerase chain reaction.

It added that its slaughter plants are constantly monitored by the National Meat Inspection Service and each hog is inspected before slaughter while each carcass is certified as disease-free before delivery to various meat shops and distributors.

"Considering all these, we believe that our properly inspected, certified, and ASF-free pork products, whether fresh, processed, refrigerated, or canned, should be allowed entry throughout the country for our consumers to enjoy," San Miguel said.

The ASF could potentially wipe out the P260-billion hog industry. Overall, including related industries, the sector is worth P416 billion.

source: philstar.com

Qualifying for USDA Loan with Low Income

Consumers often shy away from applying for a mortgage when they know their income is too low to qualify them for a program. While this might be true for traditional type loans, such as the conventional loan, there are options out there for people with smaller incomes. If your desire to become a homeowner is held back by your lack of income, consider looking into the USDA loan, a successful option for those with lower incomes. This successful loan program which is offered by the United States Department of Agriculture offers flexible guidelines, low-interest rates, and fewer requirements than most other loan programs.

Little Money Needed

The down payment requirement is often what holds people back from purchasing a home. The all-too-common need to put down 20 percent on a home is what people focus on, thinking that they will never be able to afford a home with that kind of money required up front. On the contrary, the USDA loan does not require any money down – you can finance 100 percent of the purchase price of the home. Right off the bat, this takes a huge amount of pressure off of the buyer as there are not thousands of dollars needed up front to purchase the home. In addition to not needing a down payment, you may be able to finance the closing costs into the loan, including the funding fee of 2.75 percent of the loan amount. You are able to finance up to 102 percent of the value of the property, according to the USDA, which can include the funding fee and closing costs. If you offered a lower amount for the home than it is worth, you have even more room to roll closing costs and the funding fee into the loan amount.

Low Monthly Payments

Sometimes it is not just the down payment that scares people away from applying for a mortgage, but the monthly payments as well. If you have a high interest rate, your payment is going to be high, even if the home you purchase is relatively cheaper than other homes in the area. With the USDA loan, however, the interest rates charged are much lower than any other loan program. Typically, they do not alter with debt ratios or credit scores, giving everyone that qualifies for this program a low interest rate and affordable monthly payments. Since the USDA program is for low-income families and homes that are located within rural areas, the purchase price of the home is not going to be very high as it is, further contributing to the affordability of the mortgage payment. In addition, the mortgage insurance that the USDA charges for any mortgage that has a loan-to-value ratio higher than 80 percent is well below the costs of any other program, giving you even more reasons to be able to afford the loan.

Flexible Guidelines

Credit scores, debt ratios, and income requirements often render many potential borrowers ineligible for a loan program, but that is not often the case with the USDA loan. In fact, the less money you make, the more eligible you become for the loan. This is not to say that they do not have credit or debt ratio guidelines in place – they do, but they are much more flexible than other programs, including FHA and VA loans. The guidelines include:

    Minimum credit score of 580, but if your score is less than 620 but higher than 580, you will have to go through some additional evaluation to ensure that you can afford the loan. If your score is higher than 620, the guidelines are very simple to meet. If you do not have a credit score due to insufficient credit reporting, you are eligible to use alternative trade lines, such as insurance, utility, or rent payments.
    Your income cannot be higher than 115 percent of the average income for the area. Every area differs, but you can find the maximum amount for your area on the USDA website. They do offer allowances on your income if you have children, elderly, or disabled family members living with you, enabling you to increase your chances of having income low enough to qualify for this affordable program.
    Your credit history should show on time payments with no more than 2 late housing payments within the last couple of years. Your other payments should also be timely for the most part; however, a few late payments will not disqualify you for the program, especially if your credit score is above that 620 range.

The USDA loan makes it possible for people with low income to qualify for a loan. Granted, you have to purchase a home in a rural area, but a large majority of the United States falls into this category. A search on the USDA website will show you where these affordable homes are located, enabling you to purchase a home despite your low income and put the days of renting behind you.

source: blownmortgage.com

'Yolanda' exacts P6.87 billion toll on farm sector

MANILA - Damage to the country's agriculture sector brought about by Typhoon 'Yolanda' climbed to P6.87 billion, surpassing that caused by tropical storm 'Santi'.

The latest figure from the Department of Agriculture (DA) is nearly double the P3.7 billion the agency reported earlier.

'Yolanda' lay to waste 134,085 hectares of farmland, of which 81,056 hectares were planted to rice. The typhoon destroyed 137,225 metric tons of palay worth P2.23 billion.

Next to rice, the coconut sector incurred P1.49 billion in losses, as Eastern Visayas, which produces a fifth of the country's coconuts, sustained the heaviest damage among the three regions in the Visayas.

Coconuts are the country's top agriculture export and comprises a fourth of the Philippines' merchandise shipments.

The fisheries sector incurred P1.15 billion in losses, followed by the corn industry, with 9,061 hectares laid to waste, destroying 9,452 metric tons worth P117.41 million.

The damage to irrigation facilities reached P1.01 billion.

In light of the heavy toll on Eastern Visayas, the National Food Authority (NFA) is shipping grains from its warehouses in Central Visayas.

“Food items will be moved from the production areas to affected places utilizing DA-supported market mechanisms such as the Barangay Food Terminal/LGU food trading centers,” said Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala.

“Functional food warehouses will also be utilized for food stocking,” he said.

Besides rice, the government is sending six refrigerated vans -- three from Manila and Baguio and another three from Albay -- containing frozen chicken, potatoes and other vegetables to Eastern Visayas.

Non-refrigerated vans containing eggs and other dry items would also be sent to Eastern Visayas.
The DA will deploy the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources' 1,200-ton vessel anchored in Cagayan de Oro, as well as smaller ships to ferry food items.
Apart from its own equipment, the government has tapped San Miguel Corp to provide poultry supply.

Alacal said the Philippine Coconut Authority will distribute chain-saws for clearing operations, using idle labor in typhoon-ravaged areas to man the equipment for P300 a day.

As for municipal fishermen, the government will provide 1,300 fishing boats equipped with five-horsepower engines and nets.

source: interaksyon.com

Boracay, Guimaras raise number of rabies-free islands to 14

MANILA, Philippines -- World famous Boracay in Aklan and Guimaras province were declared “rabies-free” by the Departments of Health and of Agriculture, raising the number of islands that have registered zero incidence of the fatal disease for at least three consecutive years to 14.

The declaration was made Friday, "World Rabies Day."

The other islands previously declared rabies-free are Siquijor, Batanes, Biliran, Camiguin, Marinduque, Limasawa, Camotes, Olimpia in Bais City and Apo, both in Negro Oriental, and Palawan’s Coron, Culion and Busuanga.

All these places effectively eliminated human and animal rabies, primarily by vaccinating 70 percent of the dog population and impounding strays.

"Rabies is considered as a neglected disease. That is because even if it is 100 percent fatal, it is also 100 percent preventable," Health Secretary Enrique Ona noted.

The disease " continues to be a significant public health problem that is responsible for 200 to 250 deaths annually,” he added. “In 2012, a total of 213 rabies cases and 414,553 animal bites were reported to the DOH."

For decades, said Ona, "effective and safe vaccines to prevent the disease in humans and animals have been available."

"Therefore, none of these deaths need have occurred if we had only made use of the tools necessary to prevent rabies from infecting and killing both humans and animals," he stressed.

He acknowledged that poverty and ignorance are the main obstacles to rabies prevention and elimination.

The Philippines hopes to eliminate rabies by 2020.

Rabies naturally affects only mammals and is transmitted to humans and between animals through the saliva of an infected animal, usually through a bite. In the Philippines, dog bites are responsible for 87 percent of human transmission.

Its initial symptoms include fever, pain or unusual or unexplained tingling and burning sensations or pricking at the site of the wound. When the virus spreads to the central nervous system, it could lead to the fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cords.

Region 4-A reported the most number of human rabies cases (37); followed by Region 1 (22); Region 3 (20); Region 2 (19) and Region 12 and Region 9 (18 cases each).

"The key to successful rabies elimination rests on combined efforts of effective dog vaccination program as part of responsible pet ownership and human vaccination after rabies exposure from rabid dog bites," Ona said.

Dog vaccination is mandatory under Republic Act 9482 or the Anti-Rabies  Act of 2007.

Ona said immunizing a dog ever year costs only P20 compared to P1,500 for vaccinating a person bitten by a dog.

source: interaksyon.com

Dole Philippines starts banana exports to US next month

MANILA - Dole Philippines next month will start shipping Cavendish bananas to the US, an official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said yesterday.

Clarito Barron, DA-Bureau of Plant Industry director, said 3,000 metric tons of bananas would be shipped to US military bases.

“The initial export will be 3,000 metric tons, which will be shipped by June,” he said.

The Philippines has pursued alternative export markets after China imposed stricter sanitary and phyto-sanitary restrictions on Manila's bananas. Besides the US, the Philippines is also eyeing more shipments to Japan, Korea and the Middle East.

source: interaksyon.com

Celebration of 26th National Coconut Week And 11th Coconut Festival

THE Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) is leading the twin celebrations of the 26th National Coconut Week and the 11th Coconut Festival, at the PCA Compound in Quezon City on August 30-31, 2012. With the theme “Masaganang Kinabukasan Mula Sa Niyugang Inalagaan,” the celebration focuses on the coconut and its potentials, benefits, and uses as the “tree of life.” It is being held in three focal coconut hubs: the PCA Central Office in Luzon; Tacloban, Leyte, for the Visayas Cluster; and Zamboanga City for Mindanao. Coconut traders from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao will display and sell coconut-based products in the culmination of the celebration at the PCA main office.

The Philippines is a top exporter of coconut products to 62 countries, earning $2 billion in 2011. It produces coconut sugar, virgin coconut oil, desiccated coconut, coco shell charcoal, coconut water, and activated carbon, among others. Of the country’s 12 million hectares of farmland, 3.1 million hectares are devoted to coconut, planted by 2.5 million coconut farmers. Out of 79 provinces, 68 are coconut-growing areas. Coconut farms are widely distributed nationwide, largely in Southern Luzon and in Mindanao. There are 324 million coconut trees in the country, about 85 percent of which are productive.

The 26th National Coconut Week, a partnership of the private sector, national and local agencies, and PCA, is providing a venue for information-sharing, trading, and market-matching activities to promote business opportunities from coconut. There will be lectures on latest technology and food safety, blessing of coco-showroom and village, trade fairs and exhibits showcasing coconut products and by-products, book launching, photo contest, fun run, cooking contest and demonstration.

Created by Presidential Decree 232 on June 30, 1973, the PCA became an independent public corporation on July 14, 1976, pursuant to Presidential Decree 961, to coordinate and monitor policies and programs of various sectors in agriculture. It was officially-made an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture pursuant to Executive Order 116 issued on January 30, 1987.

We wish Department of Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala, Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio R. de los Reyes, Philippine Coconut Authority Administrator Euclides G. Forbes, Tacloban, Leyte Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez, and Zamboanga City Mayor Celso L. Lobregat, all the best and success in their collective efforts to further develop the Philippine coconut industry. CONGRATULATIONS AND MABUHAY!

source: mb.com.ph

Damage to agriculture in Central Luzon hits P1.1B

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga - The southwest monsoon that wrought havoc in the last three days damaged some P1.095 billion worth of crops, livestock and fishery products in Central Luzon.

Based on the initial assessment report of the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD), the amount covered damage to rice, corn, high- value crops, livestock and fisheries in the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga and Zambales.

OCD regional director Josefina Timoteo said that the figures were only partial as the other provinces have yet to submit their reports.

The fisheries sector reported the biggest loss of P691.63 million due to damaged fishponds and fish cages. Pampanga was hard hit with P601.067 million, followed by Bulacan with P72.67 million and Zambales with P17.89 million.

The crops in the three provinces were also affected by massive flooding with an estimated P371.75-million loss.

The initial damage in the rice sector was pegged at P371.27 million, with Pampanga suffering most at P233.98 million; Bulacan at P121.54 million and Zambales at P15.75 million.

The estimated damage in the corn sector in Pampanga alone was valued at P76.74 million.

Damage to high-value crops such as vegetables in the three provinces totaled P22.27 million with Pampanga at P11.97 million, Bulacan at P7.89 million and Zambales at P2.41 million.

The total damage in the livestock sector was pegged at P10.25 million, with an estimated loss in Zambales at P7.57 million, followed by Bulacan at P2.45 million and Pampanga at P288,500.

Agriculture officials expect these numbers to rise as reports would come this week.

Andrew Villacorta, regional director of the Department of Agriculture, said they were still awaiting updated reports from various provinces and towns in the region.

Villacorta said the reports will be validated and would include a master list of all affected farmers in the region needing assistance.

source: interaksyon.com

Floods cause P152.13-M initial damage to agriculture - DA

MANILA - The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday placed at P152.13 million initial damage to agriculture affecting some 25,958 hectares of farm lands in 20 provinces in Luzon and the Visayas -- Regions 1, 2, 3, 6, and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

This was attributed to typhoon "Gener" and the southwest monsoon.

Agriculture Undersecretary for Operations Joel Rudinas, in a report submitted to DA Secretary Proceso Alcala, said the rice sector incurred the biggest loss valued at P131.49 million planted to 24,780 hectares in 18 provinces.

Rudina, however, said most of the affected crops were in the seedling/vegetative stage and with chance to recover.

Deemed lost were placed at 3,355 metric tons (MT) of palay from the 3,902 hectares in reproductive/maturity stage.

"Only 1,904 hectares were completely damaged while 22,876 hectares have chance to recover," said Rudinas.

Cagayan Province suffered the biggest loss valued at P36 million, followed by Pampanga at P32 million, Bulacan at P26 million, and Bataan at P14 million.

For the corn sector, initial damage was valued at P7.74 million affecting some 1,035 hectares in six provinces, which are mostly with chances of recovery.

Deemed lost were some 666 MT corn from the 574 hectares in reproductive stage.

Rudinas said most affected were the provinces of Cagayan and Kalinga. Around 20 hectares were reported completely damaged.

On the other hand, damage to high value crops was placed at P10.62 million and fisheries at P2.28 million.

Rudinas said high value crops damage were reported in Benguet, La Union and Pangasinan provinces with total volume at 733 MT planted to 143 hectares.

However, he said of the total areas affected for the high value crops, only one hectare was "with no chance to recover."

Meanwhile, Rudinas said effects to fisheries were reported in the provinces of Pangasinan and Cagayan due to damaged fishponds and fish cages.

He said the DA is continuing to gather reports with concerned local government units (LGUs) on production losses as well as damage to infrastructures that are caused by the on-going southwest monsoon.

source: interaksyon.com

Meat Imports Decried

MANILA, Philippines — Local livestock producers in the country have called on President Benigno S. Aquino III to thresh out the problems affecting the livestock industry.

“The government’s policy of allowing massive importation of pork and meat, despite adequacy of supply must be stopped because it has actually deprived the government billions of pesos in customs and tariff duties because they pay only five percent tariff instead of 35 percent,” livestock producers said in a recent press conference.

They said that the policy of the Aquino administration is not only hurting the livestock industry, but may also pave the way for its eventual collapse because it effectively allows smuggling and importation of pork and chicken.

“Our message is not to penalize consumers but to point out that backyard raisers are going bankrupt due to unabated smuggling,” said Rosendo So, convenor of the Swine Development Council.

Among the proposals of the council is to give the Department of Agriculture (DA) a hand in regulating the importation of meat by requiring the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to automatically forward importers’ Inward Foreign Manifest (IFM) to allow the DA to inspect the importations against underdeclaration and misdeclarations by unscrupulous traders.

Hog raisers also urged that imported products first pass through the DA quarantine before the Bureau of Customs final evaluation.

Rep. Nicanor M. Briones, Agap Partly-list, Edwin G. Chen, president Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines (Propork), Gregorio A. San Diego Jr., president, United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA), and Daniel P. Javellana Jr., chairman of National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc. (NFHFI) aired the same sentiments as So.

The industry stakeholders said a five-day pork holiday has become necessary in the wake of government’s failure to address their appeal.

They also said that they welcome the decision of Department of Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala to relieve two officials, Efren Nuestro and Jane Bacayo as heads of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), respectively.

“This is a victory on our part, even as much still needs to be done,” said Chen.

In the same press conference, hog raisers lauded Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala’s decision to put on hold the implementation of Administrative Orders 5 and 6.

The two issuances provides for rules on the hygienic handling of newly-slaughtered meat and chilled, frozen and thawed meat in the markets.

“We call on the Aquino government to protect the hog and poultry industries by not only going after “unscrupulous importers” engaged in massive “technical smuggling,” but also by scrapping Administrative Orders No. 5 and 6, which deal on the hygienic handling of newly-slaughtered meat and handling of chilled, frozen and thawed meat in the markets,” the stakeholders said, in a statement.

They said that the two issuances ease out the local growers because they were adopted in consultation with importers of meat, but not with local hog raisers.

article source: mb.com.ph