Pork prices remain elevated despite tariff cuts
MANILA, Philippines — Retail pork prices remained high despite lower tariffs on imported pork and declining hog prices, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Katrin Mares of the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Policy Research Service said the agency noted a widening gap between retail and farm-gate prices, and that both consumers and local hog raisers have not benefited from lower tariffs.
READ: MITA flags price risks from higher pork tariffs
“We are concerned that the tariff reduction does not impact the final market price, which is the retail price. This situation has significantly affected our hog producers and decreased their profits,” Mares said during the Tariff Commission (TC) hybrid hearing on Monday.
The TC held a virtual hearing to deliberate on the DA’s proposal to gradually increase pork import duties, raising tariffs to 25 percent in-quota and 35 percent out-quota by 2027, and subsequently to 30 percent in-quota and 40 percent out-quota by 2028.
As of Oct. 11, frozen kasim retailed from P200 to P270 per kilogram, lower than P240-P300 per kg in the same period a year ago, based on the DA’s price monitoring.
Frozen liempo sellers recently adjusted the prices, setting them between P260 and P340 per kg, down from last year’s range of P290 to P360 per kg.
“Prices are coming down. But our point is that it comes after several years of tariff reductions. It actually did not coincide with a sustained reduction in tariff rates for our pork,” Mares said.
However, groups representing local hog raisers said the industry has been losing as much as P250 million daily due to lower farm-gate prices, exacerbated by higher production and input costs.
Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines Inc. (ProPork) President Eric Harina said that, based on their estimates, hog raisers incur P5,000 to P8,000 per head, equivalent to P250 million in losses daily.
Harina said some operators have already ceased their operations due to mounting losses.
“I’m just also worried because as much as we would like to help with the programs of the Department of Agriculture, we also have the sense of responsibility of securing food for our nation, but we cannot do it because we don’t earn money. We are sustaining huge losses,” Harina said.
READ: DA backs ‘phased’ pork tariff hikes
ProPork vice chair Rolando Tambago urged the government to immediately restore the pork tariffs to their original levels, cautioning that waiting for the DA’s proposed timeline would kill the entire industry.
“The situation with hog raising, it takes a full year to produce breeders. If we wait until January 2027, it’s over; the industry will be dead,” Tambago said.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that farm-gate prices of live hog decreased by 17.7 percent to P173.92 per kg as of the first half of 2026 from P211.29 per kg previously.
Meanwhile, Tambago said the average production cost has risen to P195 per kg from last year’s P180 per kg due to the Middle East crisis.
However, Meat Importers and Traders Association (MITA) opposed the proposed tariff increase, stressing that higher import duties will hurt consumers despite projected higher revenues.
“Higher duties will translate directly into high retail prices for fresh meat, canned goods, and high restaurant menus,” MITA President Emeritus Jesus Cham said, describing it as “an inflation tax on Filipino families.” /pai
