The domestic supply and prices of pork products will not be affected by the declaration of a state of calamity in parts of Iloilo due to cases of African swine fever (ASF), according to industry stakeholders.
“(The ASF cases) in San Miguel and Oton in Iloilo province have no significant impact on current pork supply and will not affect pork prices in the coming months, especially toward holiday season,” Rolando Tambago, president of Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines Inc., said in a message.
“I believe the ASF national task force together with the LGU (local government unit) of Iloilo and private stakeholders are doing their best to control the spread of the disease,” added Tambago.
The Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag), for its part, said the local government of Iloilo town’s latest move would not substantially affect the supply and prices of pork products.
Processors, it said, have long abandoned the local hog industry so it would not create an impact on the prices of ham and other processed meats.
“The number of pigs culled is minimal compared to the overall stock of local hogs,” said Sinag in a statement.
“There will be elements that may try to take advantage of this declaration.”
“The declaration of the state of Calamity in San Miguel, in Iloilo is simply to equip the municipal and provincial governments with all the resources to combat the further spread of ASF,” it added.
In Metro Manila markets, pork ham (kasim) is sold for P300 per kilogram, unchanged from a year ago while pork liempo retails for P370 per kg from last year’s P350 per kg, based on the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) price monitoring as of Monday.
To recall, the towns of San Miguel and Oton declared a state of calamity due to confirmed cases of ASF.
This deadly animal disease substantially slashed the domestic swine population by about 3 million hogs at the onset of its outbreak. It also resulted in P100 billion in losses to the local industry and spikes in retail prices of pork products.
The DA has assured Filipino consumers of ample supply of rice and meat in time for the Christmas season. It estimated the demand for pork at 1.79 million metric tons, higher than the projected local production of 1.34 million MT.