Felix O. Tiukinhoy Jr., president of the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc., says their group is willing to work with local producers to ensure food security in the country. | CDND File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Following the calls of agriculture groups to stop meat importation to help the local industry players, the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (PAMPI) vowed that they will buy locally produced-mechanically deboned meat (MDM) of chicken.
MDM is the primary raw material in canned meat production. In the absence of local production, PAMPI said meat processors import MDM from different countries.
MDMs comprise 70 percent of the total poultry imports of the country, the group added.
“We will buy all the MDM that local producers can provide so that we don’t have to import it anymore, thus saving our precious foreign exchange,” said PAMPI president Felix Tiukinhoy Jr.
Tiukinhoy added that their group is willing to work with local producers and suppliers to ensure food security will not be disrupted.
Canned meat products, according to PAMPI, played a vital role in feeding the nation while community quarantine restrictions are in place due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Read: 256M cans, 3.7 M kilos of processed meat fed Filipinos during pandemic
PAMPI also said it welcomes the proposal of Agriculture Secretary William Dar and poultry producers to establish facilities for MDM production for the raw material needs of the local meat processing industry.
PAMPI, in an earlier letter to Sec. Dar, said the plants of their member-processors have produced an unprecedented 256 million cans of meat products that were used to feed the people during the relief efforts.
The group added that they also produced 3.7 million kilograms of processed meats which were distributed to various channels during the period. / dcb