PAMPI Proposes Extension on MDM Tariff

The Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) is proposing the 5% tariff on mechanically deboned meat (MDM) of turkey and chicken to be extended from 2023 til 2025.

Jerome D. Ong, representing Pampi, has mentioned that the local meat processors are petitioning to extend the tariff rates on account of helping to keep the economy afloat as well as to mitigate food price increases.

“Pampi’s petition is intended primarily to support the administration’s determined efforts to keep the national economy stable and help control inflation, especially food inflation,” mentions Ong in a public hearing before the Tariff Commission.

Ong likewise mentions that a stable economy will guarantee that processed meat manufacturers both inside and outside of Pampi would continue to generate food for the local market at affordable prices.

Ong also mentioned that the MDM’s 5% tariff will keep processed meat prices “as reasonable as possible.”.

“This tariff has been in place for the past 15 years and during those years as most consumers know, prices of processed meat products using MDM as main raw material have been relatively stable,”

Ong goes on to highlight that in the last 15 years, the 5% tariff has significantly helped the growth of MSMEs and local processed meat manufacturers.

“This is so because MDM is a versatile product that has diverse applications in food manufacturing from hotdogs to canned loaves to siomai [Chinese dumpling],”  stated Ong.

“5-percent tariff supports the continued development and growth of the processed meat manufacturing sector even if it is on the high end of the tariffs levied on raw materials in manufacturing because, at present, the tariff on manufacturing currently ranges from 0 to 3 percent unlike in MDM with a tariff of 5 percent, it ensures the domestic processed meat products using MDM will be competitive in both the domestic and international markets.”

Source: Business Mirror