Just days after the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced the outbreak of avian influenza (AI) in Pampanga, the United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra) said poultry sales have declined by as much as 50 percent.
Ubra President Elias Jose Inciong told the BusinessMirror that some of their members have seen lower sales, even as the AI outbreak is confined to just one town in Pampanga.
“Producers of broiler have seen their sales go down due to lower demand for chicken meat. In Tarlac sales declined by 50 percent as of August 14. In Pampanga sales contracted by 40 percent. In Southern Tagalog the decline was between 20 percent to 30 percent,” Inciong said.
Because of lower demand, the farm-gate price of broiler fell to as much P62 per kilogram. The production cost of small and medium broiler growers ranges from P70 to P75 per kg.
Ubra appealed to the DA to lift the ban on the shipment of poultry products from Luzon to other parts of the country, as this could cause growers to incur more losses. Inciong also said the ban has “sown confusion” among consumers, as this made them believe that the AI outbreak is widespread and affects broilers. The DA earlier said only commercial layers were hit by bird flu. “What I learned over the weekend is that many consumers do not know the difference between broiler and commercial layers”, he said.
“Broilers are those grown for 30 to 35 days and are for meat consumption, while commercial layers are those for table egg production”, Inciong added. Inciong said the 90-day trade ban could adversely affect the sector’s performance in the second half of the year.
Proper labeling
The Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) consumer protection arm encouraged poultry processors to appropriately label products to assure consumers that their products are bird flu-free.
“Appropriate labeling is a DTI concern. The labels should disclose details on the source, the manufacturers and content,” Trade Undersecretary for Consumer Protection Teodoro Pascua said in a text message.
The implementation of quality standards for manufacturing, distribution, sale, advertising and labeling of poultry rests with the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), an agency attached to the DA. The minimum requirements for labeling include the disclosure of ingredients in order of weight percentage and whether they are organic.
Labeling standards for pre-packaged food also include the identification of Philippine manufacturer or distributor, packer or repacker, as well as the address.
While the DA is already implementing the proper labeling standards, Pascua said it would be ideal if poultry processors would be able to disclose the origin of their products.
Strict monitoring
Quarantine and airport authorities were ordered on Tuesday to strictly monitor and inspect all poultry cargoes from Manila bound for other provinces to ensure that they fully comply with the quarantine procedures.
The BAI said the government is doing its best to contain the bird-flu outbreak in San Luis, Pampanga.
Officials and personnel of the BAI at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) had already received a copy of Memorandum Circular (MC) 9 dated August 14, which ordered temporary ban on the movement of poultry products from Luzon to the Visayas and Mindanao.
According to MC 9, the shipment of poultry products from Luzon outside the 7-kilometer radius control area of Pampanga will be allowed but must be accompanied by a shipping permit and a veterinary health certificate issued by a government veterinarian.
The veterinarian must certify that these products were sourced from farms with no incidence of AI for the past 21 days prior to shipment.
The DA and the BAI at the Naia said they will allow the transshipment of imported live birds and other product industry, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, semen sourced from bird flu-free countries that arrived at the Naia terminals 1, 2, 3 and 4.
The shipment will be allowed but will be subjected to the following conditions:
■ Upon arrival from the international flights, the cargoes must be loaded to the domestic airline flights but not necessarily chartered. The cargoes must not confine in four terminals;
■ Cargoes from international flights cannot be off-loaded and transferred for another vehicle for loading at the North Harbor Port in Manila;
■The shipment must have sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance, international veterinary certificate and other import documentary requirements must be in order and the cargo is accompanied by a shipping permit issued by the Naia veterinary quarantine officer; and
■ The transshipment procedures shall be enforced until such time that there are no new cases reported 21 days after the depopulation of affected areas;
The Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific said they have already complied with the DA directive regarding the shipment of poultry products from Luzon. Both carriers said they are allowed to ship poultry products from the Visayas and Mindanao bound for Luzon.
With Recto Mercene and Catherine N. Pillas
Image credits: Nonie Reyes