bird flu free, samll-medium poultry producers face perennial problems on cheap import threat.
SMF, TAV, and SFI exported only 1,500 metric tons (MT) of chicken to Japan last year as the Philippines has become the only viable bird flu-free poultry producer in South East Asia. But the Japan export market, left unsupplied by bird flu-afflicted Thailand, world’s largest poultry exporter prior to the Asian bird flu crisis, amounts to at leasts 200,000 MT from Marubeni, industry official said.
“Even if we raise our export 10 times, it will hardly fill up Japan’s requirement." they said.
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The local poultry sector produces about 500 million kilos of dressed chicken per year of which about 75 percent comes from small-medium poultry raisers.
San Diego admitted the industry turns chicks (that should be fattened for 45 days) into eggs so as to prevent price from falling.
“That becomes our intervention,” he said.
San Diego said UBRA is also asking for the extention of the Agriculture Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF), collateral-free, interest-free credit for farmers, which he said
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should help small-medium poultry raisers to modernize facilities. He admitted, though, that one applicant, Ruben San Mateo of Vitalife, has applied for ACEF loan three to four years ago, but money for his approved project (at regional level) has not yet been released.
From chicken leg quarter import of just 20 million kilos in 2003, San Diego said 29 million kilos arrived in 2004, up by a hefty 45 percent.
“(Former) Secretary (Luis) Lorenzo allowed the importation of additional five million kilos (without) local farmers’ SSM protection),” he said.
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