AGRICULTURAL groups on Monday asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to intervene against the proposed reduction of tariffs on imported pork, chicken and corn at this time.
At a press conference, the groups, led by the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag), said that lowering tariffs of the three imported commodities amid the global oil crisis would weaken national food security and destroy local livelihoods.
“Whatever the percentage may be, [these] would be a stab in the back of the local agriculture sector and our national economy,” said Sinag chairman Rosendo So.
Sinag‘s members include farmers, livestock raisers, and cooperatives.
On Sunday, the group, supported by 15 other agricultural organizations, expressed its grievances in a letter sent to Malacañang.
The agriculture and fisheries sectors are the most vulnerable to the continued spike in fuel prices, which has serious consequences to food security and rural livelihoods, and could potentially increase hunger, Sinag said at the press conference.
In a global crisis such as the Iran war, local food production becomes not just a commodity but the country‘s most strategic resource, and reducing tariffs [on imports] encourages a dangerous reliance on a volatile global food supply heavily affected by increasing fuel costs, the group said.
Food imports rely heavily on oil, which is central to the current crisis, and while it may be tempting to assume imports are cheaper in the short term, it is “economically risky and strategically dangerous.” Four years of reduced tariffs failed to lower retail prices, Sinag said.
“Pork imports surged from 300 million kilos in 2016 to 891 million kilos last year; chicken imports increased from 250 million in 2016 to 545 million last year. Yet retail prices for both pork and chicken last year were elevated, with the percentage gap between farmgate and retail prices hovering between 90 and 120 percent,” the group explained.
It also attributed higher retail prices to supply chain issues, weak regulation, high intermediary margins, and weak price transmission, rather than local production costs.
Supporting local production is crucial now, more than ever, because it would lessen reliance on external sources, ensure food security, and protect the livelihoods of local food producers. These measures, in turn, would help stabilize the local economy and strengthen the country‘s entire food chain, Sinag stressed.
Its sentiments were supported by the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc., United Broiler Raisers Association, Philippine Maize Federation, Philippine Egg Board, Federation of Free Farmers, Philippine College of Swine Practitioners, Pambansang Mannalon Maguuma Magbabaul Magsasaka ng Pilipinas, Abono Party-list, AGA Party-list, Magsasaka Party-list, Association of Fertilizers and Pesticides Distributors, Dealers and Outlets of Pangasinan, Crop Protection Association of the Philippines, Pangisda Pilipinas, Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya, and Arya Progresibo.