President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the creation of an “economic intelligence” group to go after profiteers and hoarders of meat and agricultural goods who are driving prices up and may approve an increase in pork imports to address a supply shortage, the Palace said Thursday.
The President also approved the agriculture department’s recommendation to review the minimum access volume (MAV) for pork, to raise limits to the quantity of the commodity that may be imported with a lower tariff.
The move is expected to cover the projected shortfall in the supply of pork, as local hog raisers grapple with the Asian swine fever (ASF), which has forced them to cull almost half a million hogs.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the President approved during a Cabinet meeting the creation of the sub-task force amid speculation that some hog raisers and traders have been manipulating the supply of pork to drive up its price.
“If there are groups or businessmen taking advantage of this pandemic to profit from the people, we are not going to let that pass,” Nograles said.
The task force will be led by the departments of Agriculture and Trade and Industry, and include representatives from the departments of Justice and Interior and Local Government, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine National Police, Bureau of Customs, Philippine Competition Commission, the National Security Council, and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.
Nograles, meanwhile, said the importation of pork would be a temporary measure to address the current supply deficit.
The country’s current MAV is 54,210 metric tons, but the Department of Agriculture projects that the demand for pork could reach 1,618,355 metric tons this year.
The government’s long-term focus is to help small producers, farmers, hog raisers, he said.
“That is our number one priority. This is just meant to augment the supply so the prices will not increase and impact our inflation rate.”
Agriculture Secretary William Dar earlier said his agency is considering tripling the current MAV of 54,000 metric tons as the available domestic pork supply continues to shrink, raising prices sharply.
The DA, the DTI, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, and Metro Manila mayors earlier signed a resolution asking Duterte to impose a price cap of P270 per kilogram for pork kasim (shoulder) and pigue (leg) and P300 per kilo for pork liempo (belly).
They also recommended a price ceiling of P160 per kilo for whole dressed chicken, which is seen as a pork substitute as prices rise.
On Feb. 1, Duterte signed an executive order imposing a price cap on select pork and chicken products in Metro Manila to address significant increases in prices of several food items.
The Department of Agriculture said the sub-task group on economic intelligence would begin monitoring the prices of meat products on Feb. 8.
Dar said in the initial phase of its creation, the DA and the DTI will go after unscrupulous traders and wholesalers who are allegedly responsible for the high prices of hogs and pork, hovering at more than P400 per kilogram even after last year’s Christmas season.
“Pork prices should have already gone down after the holidays, but they did not. Clearly, some persons along the food value chain are making a lot of money,” Dar said.
Before the holiday season, the average prices ranged from 270 per kilo for pigue and kasim to P300 per kilo for liempo (pork belly).
It was the basis for the newly signed Executive Order 124 which mandates price ceilings for the pork products. Dar earlier said the PCC has been conducting its own investigation on the matter.
He said the penalty for price manipulation can go up to more than PHP100 million.
The Department of Justice, meanwhile, will order the National Bureau of Investigation to gather “actionable information” that may be used to prosecute hoarders and profiteers responsible for manipulating the prices of pork, vegetables and other basic commodities.
The DOJ chief issued the statement after Duterte approved the creation of a task group to go after smugglers, profiteers, and hoarders of agricultural products.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said it supports the government effort to ensure the stable supply of meat and meat products in the market.
“The DA is doing its level best to address the situation. The allocation of funds should be able to help indemnify hog farmers and to help them as they cope with the shortage brought about by the African swine fever,” said PCCI director for agriculture Roberto Amores.
Meanwhile, PCCI President Benedicto V. Yujuico said immediate and doable interventions have to be made to address the supply of pork and to stabilize prices across the food value chain.
PCCI proposed the calibrated importation of pork as an immediate remedy “until such time that the spread of the ASF is curbed and local hog raisers can safely return to their industry.”
“The risk of contamination and spread of the virus is really high because there is no available vaccine yet for ASF. A calibrated importation program is an option the government can consider to secure supply and bring down the price of pork,” Yujuico said.
He noted that the move to import pork is attuned to the DA’s food security program, especially at this time when supply is short and prices are increasing.
PCCI emphasized that the DA and the government’s economic team should continue to strengthen local production through more accessible financing and technology and infrastructure support, including additional cold storage facilities for the agriculture sector.