The Bureau of Customs Port of NAIA (BOC-NAIA) has reminded the public about bringing in banned agricultural products from abroad, in line with an order signed last 10 August by BOC Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz ordering all offices and collection districts of the BOC to strictly guard all ports of entry against the entry of agricultural products banned by the Department of Agriculture (DA).
According to the BOC-NAIA, the DA’s list of prohibited agricultural products includes:
▪︎ Domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs and semen, coming from countries affected by the highly pathogenic avian influenza;
▪︎ Live cattle, meat and meat products derived from cattle coming from countries with cases of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy;
▪︎ Domestic and wild pigs and their products, including pork meat, pig skin, processed animal proteins and semen from countries with cases of African Swine Fever;
▪︎ Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD)-susceptible animals and their products and by-products from designated countries;
▪︎ Other fishery commodities that are not allowed for importation such as piranha, janitor fish, knife fish and blackchin tilapia.
Port of NAIA District Collector Carmelita Talusan said that since January, the port has already intercepted a total of 939 kilos of assorted meat products brought in by passengers mostly from China, Japan, US and Canada. All confiscated meat products are immediately turned over to the Bureau of Animal Industry for proper disposal, to avoid the spread of disease coming from possible contaminated products that could harm consumers and the local agricultural industry.
Talusan said the Port of NAIA will strictly implement the order signed by Ruiz by tightening inspection and security procedures in the country’s ports and borders.