MANILA, Philippines - The Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) is warning of significant shortages

and increased rice prices in the country following President Dutertes recent order to suspend rice
importation.

In a statement issued yesterday, the FEF called on President Duterte to reverse his decision to stop all
rice importation as the group cited its adverse effects on the country.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piol last week said Duterte ordered him to stop the importation of rice
to protect the countrys farmers.

Stopping all rice importation is a dangerous policy that could lead to significant shortages and increased
rice prices. The country is not self-sufficient in rice production. Stopping rice imports even during rice
harvest season will put upward pressure on rice prices and lead to significant hikes, worsening hunger
and poverty in the country, the FEF said.

Rice self-sufficiency, the group said, is neither a desirable, nor a practical objective for the Philippines
given its archipelagic nature and because it does not have vast lands and giant river systems like Vietnam
and Thailand which enable them to plant and harvest rice several times a year.

Instead, the Philippines should rely on international trade to guarantee food security, just as Malaysia
and Singapore have done. Furthermore, the country can forge a rice security pact with fellow ASEAN
members, such as Vietnam and Thailand, to guarantee rice supply in the Philippines in case of global
shortage, the FEF said.

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The group pointed out that allowing only the National Food Authority (NFA) to import rice is the wrong
policy, saying the government is a poor judge of the timing of rice imports.
We believe that neither allowing the NFA to solely import rice, nor stopping all rice imports, is good for
the Filipino consumer or the Filipino rice farmer, the FEF said.

Typhoons can hit the country at anytime and destroy rice crops. Neither is the government equipped to
respond quickly to a rice shortage given its bureaucratic procedures. A delay in importing rice will lead to
considerable spikes in rice prices and make rice more unaffordable to the poor, the group said.

Instead of having the NFA maintain its monopoly on rice importation, the FEF urges the government to
liberalize rice imports.

By doing so, the group said the government would not incur debt to finance the importation.

The FEF said decisions to import are best left to the market since it is in the interest of suppliers to
import at the lowest possible price and in an amount that would not lead to an oversupply.

We, thus, call on the Duterte administration to remove the NFA monopoly on rice importation and
liberalize the rice trade. We support the tariffication of rice imports and the use of tariff revenues to help
rice farmers to either shift production to higher-value crops or increase productivity, the FEF said.

We believe that rice import liberalization will lead to lower rice prices, lower consumer inflation, and
higher disposable income for the working class. It will make manufacturing more competitive since rice,
which is the single biggest source of calories for workers, will become more affordable, it added.

The FEF, an advocacy organization for free market reforms, well-defined and secure property rights,
consumer welfare and good governance, counts among its members former and present cabinet
secretaries and undersecretaries, as well as those from the business and finance community.

http://www.philstar.com/business/2017/04/13/1690206/rice-shortage-price-hike-loom-fef
The prices of chicken meat in Metro Manila markets have declined amid the outbreak of bird flu in
Pampanga even if the Department of Agriculture (DA) has clarified that it is safe to eat poultry products.
File

MANILA, Philippines - The prices of chicken meat in Metro Manila markets have declined amid the
outbreak of bird flu in Pampanga even if the Department of Agriculture (DA) has clarified that it is safe to
eat poultry products.

The Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) said market monitoring in major wet markets in the
metro showed that retail prices of chicken went down to P135 per kilogram from the average P160 per
kg.

Wholesale prices also decreased to P110 per kg from the P125 per kg price before the announcement of
the bird flu outbreak last Friday.

The avian flu virus is believed to have started infecting fowl in Pampanga last May but poultry operators
were hesitant to report it to authorities. The virus has affected six poultry farms, according to a report
submitted to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).

Test specimens confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) subtype H5 in the
town of San Agustin in San Luis, Pampanga, killing 37,000 poultry, quail and ducks in six farms. The H5
bird flu virus that hit the Philippines causes 80 to 100 percent mortality in the poultry industry.

The DA confirmed that a majority of the affected birds are layered chickens, which produce table eggs.
But products of farms are being delivered within Pampanga only, which lessens the threat of bird flu
spread in other areas particularly in Metro Manila.

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The affected are layer farms therefore the egg production will be affected and not the chicken meat.
But consumers are now afraid to buy chickens, hence the lower price, Sinag chairman Rosendo So said
in a phone interview.

We need to allay the fears of consumers that it is safe to buy chicken meat because if not, other poultry
farms will be affected as well, he added.

The United Broilers Raisers Association (UBRA), a major poultry industry group, is urging its members all
over the country to cooperate fully with the DA and its attached agency BAI to effectively contain bird
flu.

With the strong cooperation of all poultry industry stakeholders, we are optimistic that the bird flu
outbreak in Pampanga will be resolved swiftly, enable affected poultry farmers and their families to
recoup their losses, and the industry to grow stronger, UBRA president Elias Jose Inciong said.

While chicken meat and egg supply may become volatile in the next few days, UBRA gave assurance that
it will continue to supply markets with quality and disease-free poultry products.

Large chicken producers particularly San Miguel Foods Inc. (SMFI), a subsidiary of diversified
conglomerate San Miguel Corp., also assured all consumers of its Magnolia Chicken brand that their
poultry farms remain free of avian flu.

Upon immediate testing, our farms and our entire broiler flocks yielded negative results for bird flu.
There are also no manifestations of any symptoms of the disease or any abnormal increase in mortality
that are being observed, SMFI said.

The virus, which resurfaced in Asia in 2003, crippled poultry industries in neighboring countries, such as
Vietnam.
Other countries in the region with numerous cases of avian influenza have found the will to survive and
thrive, hence I fully expect our country and the local poultry industry to likewise win this fight, Inciong
said.

http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2017/08/14/1728687/chicken-prices-drop-amid-bird-flu-fears

Print a- a+ Leaders worried over continuing drop in sugar prices Friday, May 05, 2017 By MARCHEL P.
ESPINA SUGAR industry leaders have expressed concern as sugar prices continue to plunge. Former
Negros Occidental vice governor Emilio Yulo III, spokesperson of Sugar Alliance of the Philippines, said
the composite price of sugar right now is down to P1,200 to P1,250 per 50-kilo bag. We are very much
worried as to what the industry will face in the coming crop year, he said. Yulo said small planters are
saying they cannot afford inputs for the next crop year. With school enrollment ongoing, some can
barely afford to send their children to school let alone put food on the table, he added. He urged fellow
Negrenses to join the call in boycotting beverage firms using high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as
alternative sweetener in their products. We are appealing for sustained campaign against beverage
companies using HFCS, he said. Sugar leaders said the unabated importation of HFCS had caused a
massive drop in sugar prices, which is killing the industry. Moreover, Yulo also called on the Negrense
lawmakers to support the sugar industry in the coming congressional hearing on the effects of HFCS on
May 16. We should not let up in our fight, we implore all to continue this battle, he said. On April 18,
the Senate inquiry on the impact of the increasing importation of HFCS ended with senators urging sugar
industry leaders and beverage firms to compromise so they can reach a solution acceptable to both
parties. Stupidity While many local government units in Negros Occidental have joined the campaign to
boycott Coca-Cola products in their festivals, a local chief executive disagreed. In a statement Thursday,
Moises Padilla Mayor Magdaleno Pea said he will not join the boycott as he thinks it is stupid. I want
the governor and the sugar industry leaders to know especially the presidents of sugar federations that
the municipalities of Pulupandan and Moises Padilla will not join the boycott of Coca-Cola for using HFCS
as this is stupidity, he said. Pea is the former mayor of Pulupandan, whose incumbent mayor is his son,
Miguel Pea. The presidents of the federations should put their acts together and sit down with the
cola industry and discuss the problems amicably, the Moises Padilla mayor said. You cannot oblige one
industry to subsidize another industry, thats stupidity, he added. Governor Alfredo Maraon Jr. first
banned the sale and sponsorship of Coke products in this years Panaad sa Negros Festival, which
prompted other localities to follow. These included Hinigaran, Isabela, La Carlota City, Pontevedra and
Barangay Talotog of Murcia town while E. B. Magalona planned to declare a Coke ban after its fiesta
ended on May 1. More than 40 restaurants and establishments in the province have also prohibited the
sale of Coca-Cola products. Coca-Cola Femsa Philippines executives said the firm is utilizing 100 percent
local sugar in its bottling plant in Bacolod City.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/bacolod/local-news/2017/05/05/leaders-worried-over-continuing-drop-
sugar-prices-540163