MAV suspension plan up for review

The Department of Agriculture (DA)’s plan to suspend the minimum access volume (MAV) on pork and corn would undergo the scrutiny of the government’s economic cluster, a DA official said yesterday.

- JASPER EMMANUEL ARCALAS

Agriculture Undersecretary Roger Navarro said the department’s proposal is not yet final and would still be discussed in the government’s economic cluster.

The MAV is an import volume committed by a country that allows the entry of commodities at a lower tariff rate.

The members of the government’s economic cluster, such as the secretaries of finance and socioeconomic planning, also sit in the MAV Management Committee, the highest policy-making body on all MAV matters.

The STAR broke the story last week that the DA is looking at slashing the imports of agricultural commodities by suspending the MAV on pork and corn this year.