Philippines Poultry News Updates:

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Philippines promotes rice-duck farming
[24 June 2010] The Philippine Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has joined forces with the Department of Agriculture (DA) in promoting rice-duck farming in Agusan Del Sur Province.DAR officials said the system has proven successful in Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China. It is effective in eliminating insects and weeds when farmers raise ducks and rice simultaneously. "Given the continuous increase of population coupled with steadily shrinking farm size in the country, we have introduced organic farming systems in agrarian reform communities," said Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser C. Pangandaman. The DAR chief explained that rice production almost always requires the use of agro-chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides often in heavy doses and these are harmful to the environment.

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Philippine poultry industry seen to grow in 2010
[6 July 2010] Barring any substantial storm damage, the Philippine poultry industry is seen to grow this year, United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA) Vice President Elias Jose Inciong said. He said industry members are pretty confident of the growth, which will only be undermined if adverse weather hits the country and the quality and quantity of available feeds drop. He said despite the government outlook that corn production will continue to fall, imported raw materials will likely be enough to cover any potential shortage. Chicken production, which accounts for some 75% of the poultry industry’s total output, slightly grew in the first quarter of the year, however, corn production dropped significantly.

[mikey]

Philippine broiler production could rise by 20%
[19 July 2010] Philippine broiler production could increase by 15-20% this year with the continuous importation of GP and PS stocks, said Philippine Association of Broiler Integrators (PABI) President Rita Imelda R. Palabyab, who is also the Vice President and General Manager of San Miguel Foods Inc’s poultry operations. However, she didn’t give an estimate to the amount of GP and PS stocks that have already been imported. She also noted that while there is currently an oversupply of dressed chicken in the market, it is because this is typically a lean period for poultry. Commercial raisers have complained of low farm prices, but Ms Palabyab said prices will likely improve in the two weeks.

[mikey]

Philippines to get tough on chicken imports
[23 July 2010] Philippine Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala has vowed to take a tougher stance on chicken imports, which he said is pulling down prices of local chicken, which results in losses for domestic poultry raisers. He said he “will review import permits, as well as minimum access volume [MAV] allocations,” and that all importations will be done only after consultation with the industry stakeholders. Mr Alcala said he preferred that the local poultry industry take charge of chicken importation, and vowed the DA would give stiffer penalties to chicken smugglers. He also pledged further assistance to domestic poultry raisers to make them more competitive in the local and global market.

[mikey]

Philippines to get tough on chicken imports
[16 August 2010] Philippine Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala has vowed to take a tougher stance on chicken imports, which he said is pulling down prices of local chicken and resulting in losses for domestic poultry raisers. Mr Alcala said he “will review import permits, as well as minimum access volume [MAV] allocations,” and that all importations will be done only after consultation with industry stakeholders. He vowed that the DA will mete out stiffer penalties to chicken smugglers, who have long been a thorn on the local producers’ side. He also said he’d much prefer if the local poultry industry take charge of any chicken importation to enable it to match the import volume with the industry requirements.

[mikey]

Chicken prices up in Philippines
[22 September 2010] Chicken prices in the Philippines have gone up after the government, poultry raisers and market vendors agreed to increase the suggested retail price of unbranded dressed chicken to PHP 100/kg (US 2.27) and PHP 110/kg (USD 2.50) for branded chicken. The new prices were decided on after poultry raisers complained that farm prices of chicken was only around PHP 48/kg (USD 1.09), much lower than the production cost of PHP 60/kg (USD 1.36). Industry players admitted that there is a current oversupply of chicken in the market. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics said dressed chicken is now retailing at PHP 120/kg (USD 2.72).

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Philippine government looks to export chicken
[29 September 2010] The Philippine government is negotiating with South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore for the export of chicken to these countries, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Davinio Catbagan said during the opening ceremony of the Philippine Poultry Show 2010. Exporting chicken is one way the government can address the current production glut that the local poultry industry is facing. Dr Catbagan also said that talks with Hong Kong for the entry of Philippine chicken products into the area will resume after the Philippines has resolved the antibiotic residue issue raised by Hong Kong two years ago.

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Halt in chicken imports urged
[30 September 2010] Philippine poultry raisers have called on the government to stop chicken imports because the local market is already suffering from oversupply. United Broilers Raisers Association President Gregorio San Diego Jr said that local production can easily cover the current demand so there is no need to bring in chicken from outside. He said that both legal importation and smuggling is further dampening the local industry, and many commercial producers are already suffering from the current glut.

[mikey]

Philippine chicken producers call for import freeze
[19 November 2010] With the local market suffering from oversupply, chicken producers in the Philippines have asked the government to stop imports of frozen chicken until the end of the year. In a report by BusinessMirror, United Broiler Raisers Association President Gregorio San Diego said that as of October, the inventory of frozen chicken in local cold storage facilities is already 10 million kg, which he said is an “all-time high, and that the group has been told by a Department of Agriculture official that “around 5 million kilograms of chicken imported under the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) are set to arrive in the country. We hope the government would consider suspending MAV imports.” Industry observers say that the current inventory of chicken in the Philippines is enough to meet demand and that further imports will just exacerbate the existing oversupply situation.

[mikey]

Philippines heightens bird flu alert
[22 November 2010] Following reports of a new human case of H5N1 avian influenza in Hong Kong, the Philippines has heightened its efforts to keep the country free from the disease. The Philippines is just one of three countries in Southeast Asia that remains free of the H5N1 AI virus since its resurgence in Asia in 2003. Government officials however, have cautioned Filipinos not to panic as measures are already in place to keep the virus out. Airport and seaport officials have stepped up health checks and scans on incoming passengers. Meanwhile the Department of Agriculture is already closely monitoring the entry of all  poultry and livestock into the country to keep the AI virus at bay.

[mikey]

House lobbies to stop chicken, pork imports
[1 December 2010] Philippine lawmakers want the Government to stop the importation of chicken and pork, saying they are flooding the market and killing the local livestock industry, but the Agriculture Department refused to support the proposal last week citing that it could violate international trade agreements. While hearings are underway for the proposal, investigations revealed that there was no shortage in the supply of both proteins but imports of choice chicken cuts in the Philippines have risen 130% to 49 million kg in the first half of 2010.

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New plant in the Philippines to cater to Japanese market
[13 December 2010] San Miguel Foods, Inc and North Star Asia Holding Corporations of the Philippines signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) last Thursday to establish a poultry processing plant by July 2011. The plant will be located at El Salvador in Misamis Oriental within a 3.7-hectare property where it will process chicken by sections of the desired requirement in SMFI's market in Japan. It will have a capacity of processing 30,000 birds per day and expandable to 40,000.

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Smuggled ducks can be carrier of virus
[15 December 2010] An influx of frozen Peking duck has prompted Philippines’ lawmaker Nicanor Briones to call on the Bureau of Customs to stop the alleged rampant smuggling of frozen poultry products since it is a potential carrier of the bird flu virus. It is reported that Chinese restaurants have an abundant supply of the imported and smuggled duck in their display.

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Grimaud updates customers on its Star duck breeds
[24 December 2010] French duck breeder Grimaud held its second Asian seminar in Vietnam to inform its customers about improving performances and increasing supplies of Grimaud Star duck breeds in all the East Asia region. The latest duck management technologies as well as related equipments or duck feed technologies were also introduced during this seminar, for the purpose of development of good quality and profitable duck meat production in the country. The seminar was held in Bien Hoa, Dong Nai province last week and attended by customers from 10 Asian countries.

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Philippines issues ban issued against poultry from Canadian province
[29 December 2010] The Philippines has imposed a temporary ban on imports of poultry products and birds from the province of Manitoba in Canada. Philippine Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said the ban was imposed after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency reported an outbreak of the disease in a commercial poultry operation in the municipality of Rockwood in Manitoba. In addition to Manitoba, the Philippines, which has remained free of the AI-virus, also has temporary bans on poultry imports from South Korea, Taiwan, Bhutan, Naevstved in Denmark, Bergamo in Italy, and North Brabant in Netherlands.