Canned food (meat) prices to go up due to import ban

In the Philippines, prices of canned meat products might go up by 15%, all thanks to the 2 import bans imposed by the government against poultry meat importers from Australia and Brazil.
In mid-August 2020, The Department of Agriculture (DA) issued Memorandum Order No. 39 imposing a temporary ban on the importation of poultry meat originating from Brazil, following reports that SARS-COV2- the causative agent of Covid-19 – was detected in a surface sampling conducted in chicken meat imported from Brazil to China.
The Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (PAMPI) warned that the continuous government ban on poultry products, including mechanically deboned meat (MDM) from Brazil will lead to a shortage of raw materials and eventually higher prices of canned food products in the country.
PAMPI spokesperson Rex Agarrado said the tight supply of raw materials caused by the import ban will likely push up prices of canned meat products by up to 15% in the near future.
Brazil is the 2nd largest supplier of MDM in the Philippines, accounting for up to 25% of the imported raw materials needed by meat processors to produce their products.
Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Director Ronnie Domingo however assured the Industry that despite the import ban, the country will not have a shortage of poultry meat. The government will review carefully the documents it asked from Brazilian meat producers to ensure that the products they are exporting to the Philippines are safe from COVID-19 virus.
PAMPI said while the DA based its decision on reports in China that SARS-COV2 was found in Chicken wings imported from Brazil, China itself did not impose a ban on Brazil products, after finding out that the virus RNA or nucleic acid did not cause any infection on humans.
Rex Agarrado further added that the ban on Brazil poultry was complicated by a separate ban imposed by the DA on poultry products from Australia on concerns over possible bird flu contamination.
It was estimated that poultry products from Brazil and Australia account for about 50% of the total. Rex said the domestic meat processing industry is now starting to feel the impact of the import bans, and the increase in canned food price might be inevitable with the 2 consecutive bans.
Industry data showed that the Philippines imported 219,062 metric tonnes of MDM in 2019, about a quarter of which came from Brazil. Brazil offers competitive (lower) prices compared to supplies from other countries due to its modern and large processing facilities. With the incoming ban, this might translate to higher cost for the industry as they need to source from elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry’s product monitoring system showed that as of 15 August, the country’s inventory of MDM was good for only 30 to 45 days.