The Philippines is expected to officially open two facilities by the end of the year in a bid to boost meat exports
The two plants are publicly-funded, revealed President Benigno Aquino III. One is a poultry dressing plant project in Bamban, Tarlac that’s worth US$2.6mn and the other is a slaughterhouse that will be built at Tanauan, Batangas, which will cost US$3.2mn.
When the two plants are completed, they would aid the Southeast Asian nation in maximising meat exports.
According to Aquino, the government has emphasised on food safety so that the export market is free of any hassle and can gain traction with competitors. The country has been free of avian influenza (bird flu) since 2005 and food-and-mouth disease (FMD) since 2010. In addition, the Philippines is one among four nations in the region to have been declared free from FMD without vaccination, by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
Aquino said that his government would have to work towards maintaining the status as well as ensure the growth of the livestock sector.
