Pork producers: 5-minute xray of imports still risky

LOCAL pork producers bucked the government's proposed five-minute inspection of imported agricultural containers in the first border facilities slated to begin operations in 2027, wary that this might still enable the entry of trans-boundary diseases.

- ADA PELONIA

National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. (NatFed) Vice Chairman Alfred Ng said the Philippine Council for Agriculture and Fisheries (PCAF) recently held a presentation regarding the Cold Examination Facility for Agriculture (Cefa).

Ng said the Department of Agriculture's (DA) policy-making arm pointed out that roughly 60 minutes will be allocated to inspect and release the container, including five minutes for the X-ray.

While this could help curb the technical smuggling of pork and other farm products, Ng warned that it might leave transboundary disease unnoticed.

"What we are concerned about, however, is the biosafe facility emphasized more on the speedy release of the goods rather than thorough inspection of the goods," Ng said, noting that the proposed move would prevent congestion.