The Department of Agriculture (DA) has set up a breeder accreditation system for pig imports from Taiwan.
Under a new circular signed on January 20, 2023, seven breeder pig farms from Taiwan were rated to export live breeder pigs to the Philippines as part of the efforts to repopulate the local hog supply.
This was in response to Taiwan’s request for the accreditation of live breeder pigs by conducting on-site inspections in representative farms and evaluate the biosecurity, animal health program, animal disease diagnostic capacity, as well as the husbandry practices implemented.
A Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) inspection team report show that the government of Taiwan complied with the requirements provided under the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organization for Animal Health and relevant Philippine Standards.
The BAI also said its pre-inspection and accreditation review committee found no imminent risk to the country by importing live breeder pigs from Taiwan.
Earlier, the DA also met with representatives from Denmark to discuss areas of cooperation in the agri-fishery sector, especially the fishery and swine industries.
DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban met with Ambassador of Denmark to the Philippines and Palau, Franz-Michael Mellbin last week, for insights into semen imports from Denmark seen to help bolster the Philippines’ efforts against the African swine fever.
The DA said the countries agreed on knowledge-sharing opportunities and observe each other’s best practices as well as study the latest technologies for efficient swine production.
Based on BAI data, the country did not import any type of meat from Taiwan last year.
However, the Philippines brought 32.17 million kilograms (kg) of meat from Denmark, of which 31.07 million kg were pork, 906,588 kg were beef and 193,323 kg were chicken.
