THE farmgate price of pork has declined because consumers have been deterred by the surge in African Swine Fever (ASF) cases, farmers said.
“The farmgate price for hogs, unfortunately, dropped by P30 to P40 per kilogram. I hope (this translates) to a drop in market prices,” Jayson H. Cainglet, executive director of the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura, told reporters on the sidelines of a poultry and livestock event on Wednesday.
A kilo of pork kasim (shoulder) was selling for between P260 and P370, while pork liempo (belly) fetched P290 to P400 in Metro Manila markets, according to Department of Agriculture (DA) price monitors as of Aug. 28.
He added that hog prices dropped to about P160 to P180 per kilo.
“There are reports that many are avoiding (buying pork),” Mr. Cainglet said, noting that current supply remains ample.
According to the Bureau of Animal Industry, 15 municipalities had active ASF cases across 32 provinces as of Aug. 21. ASF was first detected in the Philippines in 2019.
“It has been with us for the past 3-4 years, palipat-lipat ang ASF (ASF is moving around). So, let’s not be afraid of the reports, that’s actually normal for the hog industry,” he added.
The DA has said it will kick off hog vaccinations by Friday, beginning in Batangas where ASF has spiked in recent weeks.
“If there are any delays it might just be for one or two days more, but the target is Friday,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. told reporters.
The department has procured 10,000 doses of the ASF vaccine for Batangas, with about 2,000 expected for deployment by Friday.
He said that the DA procured another 150,000 doses in the next batch of vaccines, arriving this weekend, Mr. Laurel added.
The DA has allocated P350 million to procure 600,000 vaccine doses from Vietnam. — Adrian H. Halili
