Meat importers oppose move for safeguard
A group of meat importers has pushed back against an initial inquiry by the Department of Agriculture (DA) on additional tariff measures, saying this will stoke food inflation and disrupt raw material supplies for local food manufacturers.
The Meat Importers and Traders Association (Mita) is urging the DA to end its ongoing investigation into pork imports over the last few years, refrain from proposing provisional safeguard duties and maintain the existing import duties.
“Imposing provisional safeguard duties will unnecessarily reignite consumer food inflation, destabilize raw material pipelines for local food manufacturers and undermine the policy stability established by Executive Order No. 62,” Mita president emeritus Jesus Cham said in a letter to the DA.
Earlier this month, the DA launched a preliminary investigation on safeguard measures after establishing prima facie evidence that increased imports over the last three to five years have caused serious injury or threat to the local hog industry.
