PHL meat imports up 9.6% in 1st semester By Ada Pelonia
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HE country’s meat imports grew by nearly 10 percent in the first semester, driven by higher chicken and pork purchases abroad. Data from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) showed that meat imports increased by 9.64 percent to 647,745 metric tons (MT) from January to June this year, compared to the 590,766 MT recorded in the same period in 2023. Chicken imports rose 4.13 percent to 221,598 MT from 212,811 MT. Mechanically deboned meat (MDM) accounted for the bulk of chicken imports at 124,837 MT. Based on BAI data, pork imports grew by 10.73 percent to 316,995 MT from the 286,275 MT recorded
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TAIWAN DRILLS WITH ANTI-AMPHIBIOUS LANDING MISSILES AMID RISING TENSIONS
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in the same period last year. Pork cuts accounted for most of the shipments, followed by offals at 113,851 MT and 112,597 MT, respectively. Beef imports jumped by 29.3 percent to 84,918 MT from 65,676 MT. Beef cuts held the bulk of the imports at 55,575 MT. “The reduction in supply caused by the continuing effects of ASF [African swine fever] coupled with El Niño most likely encouraged importers to bring in more products,” Meat Importers and Traders Association (Mita) President Emeritus Jesus Cham said via Viber. According to Cham, the “record high” domestic retail prices of pork and chicken indicate a severe supply shortage, which “allowed beef to become more competitive.”
The prevailing price of chicken in Metro Manila markets was P220 per kilo while pork belly was P380 per kilo as of August 20, based on the price monitoring report of the Department of Agriculture (DA). Cham said that while Executive Order (EO) 62 introduced a measure of certainty over the tariff, the DA “still appears unwilling to recognize the supply shortage.” “The pork MAV was only fully issued this week, delayed by over 6 months,” he said. “Also, DA would reclassify certain pork offal as meat in order for it to pay higher duty and incur higher landed cost,” Cham added. Under EO 62, pork imports have an in-quota tariff of 15 percent and
an out-quota tariff of 25 percent, while poultry MDM has a 5-percent tariff rate. Meanwhile, Brazil was the top supplier of beef and chicken imports at 30,519 MT and 121,135 MT, respectively. In terms of pork imports, BAI data showed that Spain was the country’s biggest supplier at 80,737 MT. The United States Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila (USDA-FAS Manila) recently said in its latest report that the country’s meat imports are expected to increase next year on the back of population growth and a positive economic outlook. See “PHL,” A2
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SANS IDLE FUNDS, NEW TAXES, LOANS OPTIONS By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
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F the fund balances of governmentowned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) were not tapped by the Department of Finance (DOF), the national government would have to inflict additional taxes on the public or resort to higher borrowings.
“Kung magtataas ng buwis, iyan ramdam ng lahat iyan. Magtataas ka ng VAT or income tax or magdadagdag tayo ng excise taxes, ramdam ng lahat iyan. [If we would increase the taxes, everyone would be affected by that. If the value-added tax or income tax is raised or if we would add more excise taxes, everyone would be hit by that],” Revenue Operations Group Director Euvimil Nina R. Asuncion said a televised newscast on Monday. This comes af ter A suncion clarified the issue surrounding the excess f unds of state-r un corporations, such as the Philippine Hea lth Insurance Cor poration (PhilHealth), remitted to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) to finance the unprogrammed appropriations. The government aims to raise P4.3 trillion in revenues in 2024. Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto admitted that revenue projections are “high targets,” but remained firm in the DOF’s stance on not imposing new taxes. Asuncion added that if the DOF let the excess funds of PhilHealth and the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) remain unused, the government would incur more debt and increase its debt-to-GDP ratio or debt measured against the gross domestic product. Debt-to-GDP ratio inched to 60.9 percent in the second quarter of 2024 from the 60.1 percent recorded See “Sans,” A2
FALLEN, NOT FORGOTTEN On August 26, 2024, National Heroes Day, a steady rain fell as visitors solemnly honor the fallen heroes at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers in Libingan ng mga Bayani, Taguig City—a silent tribute to the sacrifices that shaped a
nation. NONIE REYES
TAGUIG, 3 OTHER CITIES ‘MOST IMPROVED’–INDEX By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
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AGUIG, San Juan, LapuLapu in Cebu and Baguio are among the most improved cities based on the 2024 Rankings of Highly Urbanized Cities. According to the annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities which measures the performance of 33 cities, Taguig went up nine notches to the 10th spot this time from last year’s 19th; and San Juan climbed eight spots to reach 25th this year from last year’s 33rd. Lapu-Lapu city in Cebu improved by six spots to claim the 23rd ranking this year compared to its 29th spot last year, while Baguio went five notches
up to reach the 12th spot this year from last year’s 17th. The Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index (CMCI), published on the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) website, is an annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities developed by the National Competitiveness Council throughtheRegionalCompetitiveness Committees (RCCs) with assistance from the United States Agency for International Development. The rankings of cities and municipalities are based on the sum of their scores in four pillars: Economic Dynamism, Government E f f i c i e n c y, I n f r a s t r u c t u r e , Resilience and Innovation. Taguig City’s productivity and
employment generation prompted the city to clinch the first spot in terms of Economic Dynamism. Under this pillar, it fell to the 25th spot in the area of active establishments in the locality. The city’s ranking also plunged to the 13th spot in the area of cost of living. In Government Efficiency, however, it ranked 28th as its rankings in the areas of capacity of health services, social protection and recognition of performance plunged. It’s interesting to note, however, that it ranked first in terms of getting business permits. When it comes to Infrastructure, Taguig claimed the 24th spot as See “Taguig,” A2
DOT pushing 24/7 special courts to hasten tourist cases By Ma. Stella F. Arnaldo @akosistellaBM Special to the BusinessMirror
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HE Department of Tourism (DOT) has proposed the establishment of tour ist courts that are open every day, for 24 hours, to assist in the swift closure of cases committed against international travelers. Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco made this disclosure during the recent hearing on the DOT’s proposed budget for 2025, at the House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations. “We are now working with the DOJ [Department of Justice], and we will be collaborating with the judiciary department [Supreme Court]
for the establishment of a 24-hour tourist court for the resolution of crimes related to our tourists,” she said. The recommendation, she explained, was made during the tourism sectoral meeting at Malacañang on August 13, and that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. had agreed that other government agencies, such as the Philippine National Police (PNP), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), along with the DOJ, will work with the DOT to investigate and prosecute crimes related to tourists. Frasco failed to say, however, how many crimes exactly have been perpetrated against tourists to warrant such special courts. PNP crime statistics See “DOT,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.4480 n JAPAN 0.3888 n UK 73.9130 n HK 7.2431 n CHINA 7.9169 n SINGAPORE 43.2452 n AUSTRALIA 38.0572 n EU 62.9395 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.0456 Source: BSP (August 22, 2024)