BOC tightens guard vs banned agri products

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BOC tightens guard vs banned agri products
Customs Memorandum Circular 110-2022 dated August 10 furnished all Bureau of Customs offices and ports with the Department of Agriculture's updated list of prohibited agricultural products from banned countries for monitoring and implementation. Photo from the BOC.
  • The Bureau of Customs ordered all offices and collection districts to guard against entry of contaminated agricultural products from countries banned by the Department of Agriculture
  • Customs Memorandum Circular 110-2022 dated August 10 furnished customs offices with the updated list of banned and prohibited agricultural goods

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) ordered all offices and Collection Districts to guard ports of entry against contaminated agricultural products from countries banned by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

In Customs Memorandum Circular 110-2022 dated August 10 signed by acting Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz, the BOC furnished all offices and ports with the DA’s updated list of prohibited agricultural products from banned countries for monitoring and implementation.

The list includes:

  • domestic and wild birds and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, and semen from affected countries of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza;
  • live cattle, meat, and meat products derived from cattle that come 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 banned countries; and
  • other fishery commodities that are not allowed for importation include piranha, janitor fish, knife fish, and blackchin tilapia.

For a complete list of such commodities, go to https://customs.gov.ph/…/2022/08/2022-CMC-110-2022.pdf

The memo referenced a letter dated August 1 sent by Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian who was responding to Ruiz’s request for an updated list of banned and prohibited agricultural products. Sebastian has, however, recently resigned due to the issuance of a memo approving sugar importation which President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr did not approve.

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