Author : Cabanilla, Liborio S.; Rodriguez, U-Primo; Quilloy, Antonio Jesus

Summary : The struggle for competitiveness is a continuing concern primarily for Philippine agriculture on which majority of the poor depend.

This has been highlighted very recently by the impending full implementation of the Common Effective Preferential Tariffs under the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA-CEPT), which mandates the reduction of tariff protection on all agricultural products coming from ASEAN countries to a 0-5% range.

For the livestock sector, this concern was raised by a group of industry leaded who sought a definitive answer to the question of whether AFTA-CEPT is a boon or a bane.

This brief addresses the current policy debate on trade liberalization and competitiveness in the hog and poultry industries, based on analysis of trends and determinants of the industries' productivity growth.