The inter-agency MAV Management Committee has approved the guidelines on the utilization of additional minimum access volume for imported pork meat to immediately boost domestic supply and to temper the inflationary effect of high prices of fresh pork.
The Department of Agriculture welcomed MMC Resolution No. 1, Series of 2021, as it drew up clear instruction on the proper utilization of the additional 200,000 metric tons (MT) of pork imports under the Minimum Access Volume Plus (MAV+) scheme.
According the MMC, the incoming shipments will come in two tranches: 140,000 MT that should arrive within July to October 2021 and 60,000 MT for delivery between November 2021 and January 2022.
The guidelines highlighted that pork imports under the MAV+ scheme is open to all interested importers on a first-come, first-served basis.
A maximum of 50 full-container load (FCL), equivalent to 1,250 MT, is allowed per application per importer, it added.
The inter-agency committee also allowed some flexibilities in the issuance of permits by the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) to ensure the full utilization of the additional volume within the current MAV year, February 2021 to January 2022.
The resolution was unanimously approved by the six-member MCC to temper rising food inflation that was pulled up by high pork prices, mainly due to decreased hog population as a result of the African Swine Fever outbreak since mid-2019.
“There is a need to immediately address the current supply gap in pork meat, and to provide consumers with adequate and affordable food and to lower inflation,” the inter-agency MMC said.
In May, 2021 , the President approved Executive Order No. 133 that raised MAV capacity for pork imports by 200,000 MT from its previous level of 54,210 MT.
The MMC is composed of the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), and the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA)
