The Department of Agriculture (DA) issued an administrative circular (AC) putting up an accreditation system for Taiwan to export live breeder pigs.
Under AC Number 1 series of 2023 signed on January 20, 2023, seven breeder pig farms from Taiwan were accredited to export live breeder pigs as part of the Philippines’ efforts to repopulate the local hog supply.
The AC added that in response to the government of Taiwan’s application for system accreditation for live breeder pigs, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) did an on-site verification inspection in representative farms last September to assess and evaluate the biosecurity, animal health program, animal disease diagnostic capacity, as well as the husbandry practices implemented.
The document added that BAI’s verification and inspection team’s final report showed that the government of Taiwan complied with the requirements provided in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the World Organization for Animal Health and relevant Philippine Standards.
BAI also said that earlier this month, its pre-inspection and accreditation review committee for live animals, animal feeds, veterinary drugs and biologies has found no imminent risk to source live breeder pigs from Taiwan for export to the Philippines.
Earlier, the DA also met with representatives of Denmark to discuss areas of cooperation towards increasing productivity and sustainability of the agri-fishery sector, most especially the fisheries 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 on the potential of semen importation from Denmark which is also touted to help bolster the Philippines’ efforts against the effects of African swine fever.
DA said both countries also agreed to take knowledge-sharing opportunities to observe each other’s best practices and to study the latest technologies for efficient swine production.
Based on data from the BAI, the country did not import any type of imported meat from Taiwan last year.
However, the Philippines brought a total of 32.17 million kilograms (kg) of meat from Denmark last year, of which 31.07 million kg is pork while 906,588 kg is beef and 193,323 kg is chicken.
