Pork supply seen sufficient for holidays after Spanish import ban; inventory ample

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said the supply of pork will remain sufficient during the holidays, even following the temporary ban on hog and pork imports from Spain after it confirmed an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) .

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. said the import freeze, which covers live pigs, pork meat, pork skin and semen used for artificial insemination, will not drive up prices or tighten supply.

Mr. Laurel said “cold storage units are full” and that inventory levels can handle the increased year-end demand.

The Philippines banned Spanish pork imports following the confirmation of ASF cases among wild pigs in Sabadell, Vallès Occidental in Catalonia.

The DA said all sanitary and phytosanitary permits for hog imports from Spain have been automatically revoked.

According to the DA, only frozen pork products produced on or before Nov. 11, and which were loaded, in transit, or accepted at port on or before Dec. 4, will be allowed entry into the Philippines.

Spain is one of the largest pork producers in the European Union and the second-largest supplier of pork to the Philippines, shipping 117,000 metric tons in the nine months. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel