The Department of Agriculture (DA) and its partner agencies confiscated over P650 million worth of smuggled farm and fish products in the past 10 months.
DA Secretary William Dar said the successful operations from April last year up to this month were a result of coordination with the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and other agencies.
“We are relentless in our joint efforts to confiscate all illegal imported farm, fishery, and food products to protect not only our farmers and fisherfolk, but also our agri-fishery sector from transboundary diseases, and our countrymen from unsafe and unhygienic food items,” Dar said.
DA Assistant Secretary Federico Laciste, Jr. said P548.56 million worth of farm products were confiscated from April to November 2021 while P109 million from January to date.
The confiscated goods were P121.3 million worth of undervalued imported rice shipped in Cebu, Cagayan de Oro (CDO), and Iloilo; P101.5 million worth of red onions, in Subic; P100 million worth of meat and assorted agri-fishery products, in Navotas: P72 million worth of assorted vegetables and red onions at CDO Port; P70 million assorted vegetables in Subic; P50 million red onions at CDO Port; P15 million assorted vegetables in Subic; P10 million agri-fishery products in Calumpit, Bulacan; P4.7 million assorted vegetables in Malabon City; and 1,874 sacks of sugar in Navotas.
For January to February this year, P46 million worth of smuggled agri-fishery, frozen meat, and products were confiscated from China; P42 million misdeclared fishery products from Vietnam in Meycauayan, Bulacan; P 11 million misdeclared frozen meat, in Antipolo and Quezon City; and P10 million smuggled fresh vegetables, at Manila International Container Terminal.