The Department of Agriculture (DA) has widened its list of temporarily prohibited pork imports to include pork products from Singapore.
Memorandum Order 20 – 2023 dated March 6 stops the importation of pork products and byproducts including, skin, porcine processed animal proteins and semen from the southeast Asian neighbor.
The DA said Singapore is not an accredited country to export swine related commodities to the Philippines but cited the need to prevent the entry of any products from a country susceptible to African swine fever (ASF) that might enter the Philippines through hand-carried products from international vessels or other possible routes.
The decision to ban pork products from Singapore was based on official report submitted by the chief veterinary officer, director general of the Animal and Veterinary Services of Singapore to the World Organization for Animal Health on February 5 on the outbreak of ASF in a nature park in northwest Singapore affecting wild boars.
This has the impact of immediate suspension of the processing, evaluation of the application and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance of the cited commodities from Singapore, the DA said.
The order also warrants the stoppage and confiscation of all pork shipments from Singapore to the Philippines by all veterinary quarantine officers and inspectors at all major ports of entry.
