Chủ Nhật, 30 tháng 6, 2013

Region 12 eyes pork exports anew

DA and DTI representatives from different parts of the country recently conducted the two-day National Meat (Fresh and Processed) Cluster Harmonization and Convergence Workshop in General Santos City to discuss strategies to penetrate the global meat market.


Amalia J. Datukan, DA-12 director, asked livestock growers, meat processors and other private organizations in the region to work closely with government agencies to reach markets abroad.



“We need to reinvigorate the standing of our products to compete in the global market by offering fresh and processed meat products that are of high quality,” Ms. Datukan said in a statement.



Davinio Catbagan, DA assistant secretary for livestock, said the agency is still in the process of reviewing the national livestock road map that will guide the development of the country’s livestock and poultry industries.



The DA regional office cited “huge export potential for pork products among Asian countries, and goat meat in Middle East countries and other Islamic states.”



Domestically, demand for beef and pork products is also increasing due to the country’s rising population, the office added.



Dr. John B. Pascual, DA-12 livestock coordinator, identified Dubai in the United Arab Emirates as a possible market for pork products. He said that consultations will be conducted with the region’s meat producers and processors in line with the agency’s meat export program.



Last year, DA-12 initially identified Dubai as the shipment destination of “pork-in-a-box” products.



The agency has already accredited some hog farms in Region 12 to supply the potential foreign shipment. These farms are located in the cities of General Santos and Koronadal, both in South Cotabato.



One farm was identified as Progressive Farms, Inc., one of the piggeries under the Lucio C. Tan Group of Companies.



In December 2008, the country would have made its first foreign pork shipment to Singapore, if not for the detection of the Reston Ebola virus in a hog farm in Luzon. Hog raisers in Mindanao, though far from Luzon and shipping from the Makar wharf in General Santos City, were all set for that shipment when the Agriculture department ordered it stopped.



Matutum Meat Packing Corp, which is based in Polomolok, South Cotabato, had been cleared by Singapore’s Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority in April 2008 to ship the pork meat products to the island-state. The company operates the only triple-A slaughterhouse in the area.



Domestically, hog farms in Region 12 supply the markets in Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao, as well as the provinces of Samar and Leyte. — Romer S. Sarmiento



Region 12 eyes pork exports anew

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