On this week’s audio report from the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), USMEF senior vice president Joel Haggard discusses new challenges facing Philippine meat importers following a new decree issued by the Philippine Department of Agriculture.

The decree aims to prevent smuggling of imported agricultural products and evasion of import tariffs in the Philippines, a country that consistently ranks as a top 10 market for U.S. red meat exports, and a particularly strong destination for raw materials imported for further processing. This decree requires importers to now re-confirm their orders and has raised concerns about delays and interruptions for U.S. pork and beef products entering the market.

In the report, Haggard notes that this type of market access issue periodically surfaces in the Philippines, which is a large importer of red meat but also has significant domestic pork production. USMEF is working with the USDA office in Manila to keep exporters informed of the situation, and hopes to minimize any interruption of red meat shipments to the Philippines.

Listen to the full report here:
USMEF Report, Philippines Import Policy