National Pork Producers Council Vice President Todd Marotz, chief production officer for Wakefield Pork in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, and NPPC Vice President of Government Affairs Maria C. Zieba were recently in the Philippines on a trade mission with Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen and a number of Cornhusker farmers.
The delegation met with Philippines government officials and representatives of the Meat Importers and Traders Association and the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc., or PAMPI, as well as with H.E. Lee Lipton, the U.S. ambassador to the Philippines. The group also toured a meat processing plant in San Fernando, about 40 miles north of Manila, and met with officers of the Federation of Pork Producers of the Philippines (PROPORK).
Marotz spoke at the PAMPI general membership meeting, where he noted the longstanding partnership between the U.S. meat sector and the Philippine meat processing industry. He also pointed out that the U.S. and Philippines pork industries benefit from – and need – predictable trade policies.
“We know that businesses perform best when policies are rooted in transparency, science and predictability,” said Marotz. “Stable trade policies help advance our industry by encouraging investment, long-term supply relationships, food affordability and manufacturing competitiveness.”
NPPC has worked for years with the U.S. and Philippines governments to expand access for U.S. pork to the Philippines market. It strongly supports the U.S.-Philippines Trade and Investment Framework Agreement and the Philippines’ favorable trade treatment under the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences.
The Philippines is an important market for the U.S. pork industry. Last year, America’s pork producers shipped more than $133 million of product to the island nation. For the past several years, the Philippines has been battling African swine fever, so it relies on the United States to meet its growing consumer demand for pork and expanding foodservice and processing sectors
Click here to see more...