Hog raisers brace for slow recovery

Around 2,000 live hogs from South Cotabato, Mindanao region arrive in Vitas port, Tondo, Manila on Feb 17, 2021 to augment the pork supply amid shortage and high prices in the National Capital Region. RICHARD A. REYES / INQUIRER

MANILA  -Local hog raisers anticipate a slow recovery next year as President Marcos retained lower tariff rate on some agricultural commodities such as meat until the end of 2024.

National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. president Chester Warren Tan said swine production would continue as scheduled albeit at a slow pace as domestic producers were in a wait-and-see mode.

Tan said many of them, including those backyard hog raisers, had started cultivating pigs as they expected the tariff rate on meat imports to revert to the original import duty by next year.

READ: Lower import rates on rice, corn, meat extended until Dec 2024

“Hog production will carry on but to be honest, we believe the sector’s recovery will slow down because of what happened (the extension of lowered import tariffs). But it does not mean production will stop,” he said.

“We already prepared to increase our local production from last year until this year so that prices of pork will decrease even if more or less imports will enter the country. Prices tend to go down automatically if swine production is high. We hope the government will realize this,” he added.

Tan said the swine industry was surprised by President Marcos’ issuance of Executive Order (EO) No. 50, which maintained the low import duty on rice, corn and meat for another year.

Based on the EO, fresh, chilled or frozen meat imports are subject to a tariff rate of 5 percent for in-quota and 25 percent for out-quota volume.

READ: Hog industry chiefs issue glum 2024 production outlook

The group, he said, would submit a letter to Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. to explain that the extension of modified rates had failed to bring down prices of pork in previous years.

In Metro Manila markets, a kilo of pork ham (kasim) is priced at P270 to P370 per kilogram as of Thursday compared with P270 last year, based on the Department of Agriculture’s price monitoring.

Pork liempo is selling for P300 to P400 against P300 per kg previously.

Tan also said the letter would explain in detail why the government had lost about P14 billion in revenues and discouraged higher hog production due to the influx of imported meat following the lowering of import duties.

Meat imports in the Philippines decreased by 9.7 percent to 1.02 billion kg from January to October from 1.13 billion kg previously, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Animal Industry.

Pork accounted for nearly 50 percent of the total, amounting to 504.3 million kg. However, it declined by 16.9 percent year-on-year.

Separately, hog output rose by 3.13 percent to 1.31 million metric tons (MT) from January to September from 1.27 million MT a year prior, the Philippine Statistics Authority recorded. INQ