MANILA, Philippines — Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel has revealed plans to overhaul the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) for pork imports, a policy that has been in place since 1996. 

The existing regulations, according to Laurel, have been exploited by a small group of accredited importers, prompting the Department of Agriculture (DA) to revisit the guidelines.

“We are reformulating the rules for MAV. The DA’s Policy and Planning Office is already on the job and they have to have an output by October this year,” Secretary Laurel said. 

He said that the 1996 MAV rules left room for significant improvements, necessitating a revision.

The MAV allows pork imports to be subject to a lower tariff of 15 percent, compared to the regular 25 percent. The total MAV allocation stands at 55,000 metric tons, with 30,000 MT designated for meat processors to ensure affordable processed meat prices.

Upon reviewing the MAV structure, Secretary Laurel discovered significant discrepancies. Out of the 130 MAV quota holders, 47 control 80 percent of the total allocation, with 22 of these holding 70 percent of that share. “In reality, 22 MAV quota holders account for 55 percent of the total volume,” Laurel noted.

Further complicating the situation, many of these MAV allocations are reportedly reused, leading to inflated import volumes. “The sad part about this is that consumers don’t benefit from the reduced tariff,” he added, highlighting the inefficiency of the current system.

In response, the DA is considering increasing the allocation for meat processors to 40,000 MT. The remaining volume would be set aside for Food Terminals Inc. (FTI) to allow it to play a more active role in stabilizing pork prices in the market.

As part of its efforts to control prices, the DA has set a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for pork: P380 per kilo for liempo, P350 per kilo for pigue and kasim, and P300 per kilo for fresh carcass or sabit ulo. However, compliance with these price guidelines has been reported as low.