The Bureau of Customs has seized P25 million worth of poultry products including Peking duck, pork loin and other frozen meats at the Manila International Container Port.

Commissioner Napoleon Morales announced yesterday that the agency’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service intercepted four 40-foot reefers that arrived from China last Jan. 22 and Feb. 11.

He inspected the seized goods along with Agriculture Asst. Secretary Salvador Salacup and Agriculture Sector Alliance of the Philippines Rep. Nicanor Briones.

Jairus Paguntalan, officer-in-charge of the agency’s Intelligence and Enforcement Group, said operatives have not relaxed their guard since Morales ordered the alert on smuggling of agriculture products for the holiday season last year.

“We received derogatory information that shipments of poultry products were arriving. So we were already on heightened alert prior to the arrival of the shipments,” he said.

Morales added that Ma. Lourdes Mangaoang, x-ray inspection unit head, has been ordered to place under mandatory scanning all refrigerated shipping containers to enforce the ban on specific agricultural products.

Paguntalan said the two shipments declared as food ingredients were found to contain Peking duck, pork loin, pigeon, and chicken parts in cartons weighing 47,000 kilograms and 45,000 kilograms.

He noted that freight forwarder Reach Logistics Inc. has failed to present the required import documents from the Bureau of Animal Industry.

Briones commended the bureau for its vigilance particularly in protecting the interests of poultry raisers now struggling with the slowdown in the economy.

“The private sector was relieved that these goods were intercepted before they could reach the markets,” he said, underscoring the unfair competition posed by smuggled agricultural products to local producers. Lawrence Agcaoili and Joel E. Zurbano