THE South Korean government has given the green light for three Philippine poultry manufacturers to start exporting chicken to South Korea.
In a statement, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) identified the three approved facilities as LPD Farms Food Corp. in La Union; Carino and Sons Agri-Development, Inc. in Batangas; and Ana’s Breeder Farms, Inc. in Davao City.
“The BAI, in cooperation with the Philippine Agriculture Attache in South Korea and the National Meat Inspection Services (NMIS) facilitated the inspection mission of the poultry farms,” it said.
The inspection was done from Sept. 23-30 by South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs — Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
South Korea lifted its ban on the export of Philippine poultry products and pet birds on July 4 since the country was able to restore its highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)-free status.
South Korea, along with Japan and Singapore, banned poultry products and pet birds from the Philippines in 2017 when an outbreak of bird flu was confirmed.
Korea imported 140,000 metric tons (MT) of chicken in 2018. This is expected to increase to 145,000 MT this year with the continuous increase in demand for processed chicken products and lower priced imports.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that chicken production in the first nine months of the year increased by 5% to 1.401 million MT year on year. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
