DA eyes to tap poultry dressing plant to boost meat exports

Domingo said the current oversupply of chicken was due to the quarantine restrictions to contain the spread of Covid-19. (File Photo courtesy of Poultry Farmchoice Enterprise FB Page via PNA)

MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) is banking on the “AAA” poultry dressing plant in Tarlac to boost meat exports from the country.

During the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF)-Task Group on Food Security virtual presser on Thursday, Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) director Ronnie Domingo said the plant, which had cost the government PHP100 million to construct, could be tapped and made operational to help the poultry raisers increase their productivity and competitiveness amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“Kapag sinabing triple A, pang export quality. Meron tayong pinatayo noon na more than 100 million [pesos] ang halaga na triple A na dressing plant sa Tarlac (If we say triple A, that means it is for export quality. We have constructed before a triple A dressing plant worth PHP100 million in Tarlac),” Domingo said.

Domingo said the current oversupply of chicken was due to the quarantine restrictions to contain the spread of Covid-19.

“Sa halip na may deliveries sa mga dapat na merkado, sarado. Ngayon yung mga dating kainan, sarado… Bumaba ang demand. Walang pupuntahan yung mga manok na yun at tinago yun sa cold storage (Instead of having the [poultry products] delivered at markets, they were closed. Now, the restaurants are also closed… The demand declined. The poultry products have no place to go and they were kept in cold storage),” Domingo added.

In a separate statement, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the DA fully understands the oversupply currently experienced by the industry.

“We believe the situation is temporary and brought about mainly by the contraction of market demand due to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) measures implemented by the government to contain the threat of Covid-19 pandemic,” Dar said.

Dar said the DA through its concerned units and agencies are in constant talks with United Broilers Raisers’ Association (UBRA) even before the Covid-19 pandemic to help them resolve major issues and concerns.

“In fact, we mutually agreed to provide them financial assistance to help some of their members rise above the current crisis,” Dar said.

Dar said the DA through the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) will establish in 2021 more triple AAA slaughterhouses, including a facility to produce mechanically-deboned meat (MDM) to reduce imports of said commodity.

The bulk or 70 percent of the country’s poultry imports comprise of MDM, offals, and chicken skin, which are not produced in bulk and consolidated locally.

“Once again, we wish to reiterate that we did not ask UBRA nor the local poultry industry to limit their production,” he said.

“In fact, we continue to encourage not only the poultry industry stakeholders but also other key players in the food value chain to continuously elevate their game, as our role of ensuring adequate, accessible and affordable food for our countrymen was thrust into national limelight due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” he added.