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Monday, August 22, 2005
S. Cotabato lawmakers want MAV extended
KORONADAL CITY -- In a bid to protect the local poultry industry, the Provincial Government of South Cotabato asked Congress and the Department of Agriculture to extend the minimum access volume (MAV) for imported chicken.
In a resolution, the South Cotabato Provincial Board cited that the implementation of the MAV scheme, which expired last June 30, will ensure the survival of the critical poultry industry in the province and the entire country.
The Provincial Board's move was in support of a similar call earlier made by the Provincial Government of Bukidnon.
"The MAV scheme will protect our local poultry products from undue competition with the imported products," said board member Antonio Damandaman, chair of the provincial board's committee on agriculture.
MAV refers to the volume of a specific agricultural product that is allowed to be imported with a lower tariff as committed by the Philippines to the World Trade Organization (WTO) under the Uruguay Round Final Act.
The country began implementing MAV with the passage of Republic Act No. 8178 or the Agricultural Tariffication Act on March 28, 1996.
In the last three years, MAV utilization for poultry averaged 80 percent with practically all of the country's poultry meat imports falling under MAV.
Last year, the MAV for imported chickens was kept at 1.83 million kilos a month.
Damandaman said that if the MAV scheme will not be extended, the local markets would be flooded by imported chicken, which are way cheaper than poultry products sourced or raised locally.
He explained that locally-produced chickens are priced higher due to the high cost of production in the country as brought about by the skyrocketing prices of feeds and other vital inputs.
"On the other hand, the imported chickens, especially those coming from our neighboring countries, are cheaper because their governments subsidize their production," Damandaman said.
Damandaman urged the government, through the House of Representatives and the Senate, to work for the immediate extension of the MAV scheme for imported chicken.
"Without the MAV scheme, our poultry industry will eventually die," Damandaman added. (Allen V. Estabillo)
For Bisaya stories from General Santos.Click here. (This section is updated every Monday)
(August 22, 2005 issue)
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