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Agriculture secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. backed calls by local hog raisers to increase pork import tariffs and restrict additional shipments as lower farmgate prices and cheaper imports pressure domestic producers
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Industry group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura is seeking the restoration of tariffs to 30% for in-quota pork imports and 40% for out-quota shipments, along with a 120-day suspension of additional imports
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Tiu Laurel said the Department of Agriculture would suspend sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for selected pork cuts once legally permitted, possibly by mid-November, through January 2027
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The DA plans to assess meat processors’ requirements and consider exemptions where necessary
Agriculture secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. backed calls by local hog raisers to increase pork import tariffs and restrict additional shipments as falling farmgate prices and cheaper imports weigh on domestic producers.
“I’m on the side of Filipino hog raisers. We will do whatever is in our power to provide the swine industry immediate relief,” Tiu Laurel said in a statement on October 25.
His position puts the Department of Agriculture (DA) in line with industry group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG), which is calling for higher tariffs and a temporary halt to additional pork imports to protect local producers.
SINAG is pushing for the restoration of tariffs to 30% for in-quota imports and 40% for shipments outside the minimum access volume, along with a 120-day suspension of additional imports.
Planned pork import suspension
The DA had earlier proposed restoring the higher tariff rates and suspending the issuance of import clearances for selected pork cuts to help stabilize farmgate prices and ease financial pressure on local hog raisers.
Tiu Laurel said the DA would suspend the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances (SPSICs) “once we are legally allowed,” potentially by mid-November, to halt imports of selected pork cuts through January 2027.
He added that the department would at the same time assess the requirements of meat processors and consider exemptions where warranted.
The DA said that although they differ on duration, both the DA and SINAG aim to shield local hog producers from import competition.
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The DA cannot raise tariffs alone as adjustments require the Tariff Commission and other agencies, limiting immediate relief through higher import duties.
Reduced pork tariffs were introduced in 2021 under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte to address supply shortages linked to African swine fever. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. later extended the reduced rates through Executive Order No. 62, signed on June 20, 2024, setting tariffs at 15% for in-quota imports and 25% for out-quota shipments through 2028.
The DA is investigating rising pork imports, potentially leading to longer-term restrictions.
Calls for tighter import controls come as falling farmgate prices threaten hog farms, pressuring the government to help local producers compete with imported pork.
DA said that although the department and SINAG agree that local producers need protection, the immediate challenge is turning their proposals into concrete measures that ease pressure on farmers and improve farm-gate prices.
