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Davao hog farmers oppose lifting of ban on pork, related products

By Che Palicte

October 17, 2019, 8:28 pm

<p><strong>KEEP THE BAN.</strong> Alvin Teves, who represents the Hog Farmers Association of Davao, Inc., says his group wants local government units to keep the temporary ban on pork and pork-related products in Mindanao until the threat from the African Swine Fever has been completely removed, during a press conference in Davao City on Wednesday (Oct 16, 2019). Teves also warns that any action to reverse the ban without scientific bases would be catastrophic to the local hog industry. <em>(PNA photo by Digna Banzon)</em></p>

KEEP THE BAN. Alvin Teves, who represents the Hog Farmers Association of Davao, Inc., says his group wants local government units to keep the temporary ban on pork and pork-related products in Mindanao until the threat from the African Swine Fever has been completely removed, during a press conference in Davao City on Wednesday (Oct 16, 2019). Teves also warns that any action to reverse the ban without scientific bases would be catastrophic to the local hog industry. (PNA photo by Digna Banzon)

DAVAO CITY -- A group of local hog producers has called on Mayor Sara Z. Duterte not to lift the executive order banning the entry of pork and related products, and processed meat in the city.

Alvin T. Teves, the past president of Hog Farmers of Davao, Inc. (Hog FADI), said Wednesday the group will formally send a letter requesting Mayor Sara to continue with the ban until the threat of the African Swine Fever (ASF) has been completely neutralized.

Teves said they were prompted to lobby with local government units to keep the ban after the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año reportedly encouraged local government units of Visayas and Mindanao to lift the temporary ban on pork and related products.

He warned that any action to reverse the ban without scientific bases would be catastrophic to the local hog industry.

Likewise, he cited that Felix Tiukinhoy, president of the Philippine Association of Meat Processors (PAMPI), has earlier admitted that no testing has been done to determine if the products of their members remain ASF-free.

On Tuesday, Samahang Industrya ng Agrikultura chairman Rosendo So wrote a letter to Secretary Año expressing their concern over the latter's memorandum to LGUs to start lifting the ban on pork and related products.

So said the memorandum runs counter with the mechanisms put in place by LGUs to protect their respective hog industries from the global outbreak of ASF.

"We have requested the Department of Agriculture to test all frozen meat in cold storage facilities, through an independent third party like the SGS, but no official action has been taken," So said in his letter to the DILG chief.

He also noted that "several incidences that confirmed contamination of processed pork that entered our country, and importation of pork products from banned countries by a member of PAMPI," So said.

Mayor Sara issued an executive order last month, temporarily banning all live pigs, pork and pork-related products, and by-products whether fresh, frozen, processed or cooked from the entire island of Luzon, and other ASF-affected areas.

Teves said that with the ASF outbreak, the losses of the processed meat industry remains "minuscule" compared to that of the hog industry and allied businesses, whose losses are pegged at PHP500 billion.

He also assured that the hog industry in Davao and all over Mindanao can meet the rising demand for meat supply during the Christmas season. (PNA)

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