The government signed an amendment to Executive Order No. 190 to extend the importation of meal, bone meal and other edible offals at a lower tariff rate over the next three years.
“It was signed already and extended for three years,” Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.
The original text of the EO provides that the reduction of tariff for MBM imports to 5 percent is in compliance with the country’s commitment to the World Trade Organization as concession to the extension of protective measures on rice imports.
The tariff on edible meat and animal offals would have reverted back to the original tariff of 40 percent on July 1, 2017 if not for the extension.
Meat processors welcomed the development, saying this would continue to stabilize canned meat prices for the next three years. MBM and offals are used as extenders for processed and canned meat goods.
MBM and animal offals are among the agricultural products that were subjected to tariff rate reduction under the most favored nation rates in exchange for the continuation of the quantitative restriction on imported rice. Former president Benigno Aquino III signed the original EO in 2015.