Hog sector shaking off effects of ASF; ’21 output up

The local hog industry is finally recuperating two long years after the African swine fever (ASF) devastated the sector, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Friday.

Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the DA reported that local hog inventory climbed to 9.8 million in 2021 from 9.1 million the previous year.

Reildrin Morales, director of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), said in a virtual briefing that the the 0.7-million increment in local stock was “substantial” considering the 24-percent year-on-year decline in 2020.

Morales primarily attributed the increase to the combined efforts of the government, private sector, swine raisers’ groups and professional veterinary associations that continue to battle the lingering threat of ASF.

“These efforts, implemented in partnership with [local governments], have been instrumental in keeping the industry alive,” he said, stressing that the role of the local government, particularly at the barangay level, was crucial to the success of the rehabilitation and repopulation programs.

With the higher hog population, pork supply has slowly stabilized, with the production from local raisers across the country augmented by frozen items sourced from other countries.

“These imported products are kept in cold storages and will be released to simply augment supply gap,” Morales said.

The DA said it remained optimistic the hog industry would gain momentum this year and recover from losses it incurred due to the ASF outbreak in 2019.

As of Jan. 13, the DA said active cases of ASF were reported in six regions, 17 municipalities and 45 barangays.