Local pork output to rise 5% this year
MANILA -Pork production in the Philippines this year is expected to increase despite the outbreak of the African swine fever (ASF) and the shift in demand to chicken, a US-based agricultural think tank said in a report.
The Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN), which is under the US Department of Agriculture-Foreign Agricultural Service, on Wednesday projected pork production in the Philippines to grow by 5 percent to 975,000 metric tons (MT).
While this is above last year’s 925,000 MT, it is still below the 1 million MT output recorded in 2021 due to ASF, which has spread to the country’s main suppliers like the provinces of Cebu and Maguindanao del Sur.
Data from the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) show that the incidence of ASF in the country has substantially waned since the outbreak was first detected in 2019.
As of March 31, the DA said there were ASF cases in four provinces and 20 barangays. This is a significant decline from a high of 51 provinces and 3,657 barangays.
Pork imports, meanwhile, will likely drop to 525,000 MT from 559,777 MT in 2022 due to higher prices in the international market on top of lower demand because of ASF, according to the GAIN report.
It added that local pork belly prices have increased since the declaration of ASF outbreaks in Cebu and Maguindanao del Sur in March.
Last month, the DA reported that prices of pork products ranged between P280 and P390 per kilogram. On Wednesday, however, prices rose to P310 to P420 per kilogram.
As Filipinos continue to reel from the impact of ASF, which has killed at least 5 million hogs since 2019, GAIN noted a shift in demand from pork to chicken. INQ
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