Amid ASF, San Miguel streamlines pork business

MANILA, Philippines — Amid a pork crisis caused by the African swine fever (ASF), consumer giant San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. plans to streamline its pork business and instead rely on outsourcing of inventory from local hog raisers to support its Monterey brand.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, SMFB said it’s looking to transfer its nationwide hog inventory and facilities to local raisers to allow them to supply the requirements of their respective regions and help strengthen biosecurity protocols among smallholder farmers.

“We want to provide our local piggery businesses a chance to thrive in these trying times, and encourage more smallholder farmers to grow this industry locally and responsibly,” said Ramon S. Ang, president and chief operating officer of SMFB’s parent conglomerate San Miguel Corp.

The ban on the transportation of pork and pork products due to the ASF has gnawed on the business of Monterey, prompting this change in business model.

“This is one way to stabilize the supply of affordable pork in the country. More importantly, it will help boost the local hog raising industry. They can run this business at a lower cost, making it more sustainable. This also opens the doors for more Filipinos to become agri‐entrepreneurs,” Ang said.