Pork inventory jumps by 300% but prices still high

The country’s frozen pork inventory in June has risen by more than 300 percent from year-ago level, boosted by the steady influx of imports, but traders said this might not translate to lower prices in the market.

Based on data from the National Meat Inspection Service, frozen pork inventory as of June 28 reached 61,087 metric tons, up 310 percent from 14,887 MT on June 29 last year.

Records showed that the spike was due to the steady arrival of pork imports, which hit 59,984 MT as traders ramped up their orders to address the shortfall in pork supply in public markets.

While oversupply often leads to lower consumer prices, Meat Importers and Traders Association president Jesus Cham said meat traders were unlikely to sell at lower prices to retailers and consumers given the uncertainty in the arrival of shipments and with pork tariffs reverting to the original rates by next year.

He said the market now was made complicated by pandemic-induced bottlenecks. Before the pandemic, shipments usually arrive in a month’s time. Now, pork imports that were ordered as early as February started arriving only last month.

“Wholesale prices from importers are very low now,” Cham said. “Unfortunately, traders know this is not sustainable [due to tariff increases again next year] so they will resist lowering prices.”

As of June 10, the Department of Agriculture’s latest price monitoring report showed that retail prices of imported pork ham and pork belly stood at an average of P260 a kilo and P320 a kilo, respectively.

Local fresh pork was being sold at between P370 and P380 per kilo.

Agriculture spokesperson Noel Reyes said the agency was not considering the reimposition of the suggested retail price scheme, adding that the prevailing rates “are already low at this point and that it will continue to be dictated by market forces.”

Prices may not move until the market finds its balance and that may take a while as the new COVID-19 Delta variant threatens to begin new rounds of lockdowns, Cham said.

Industry sources told the Inquirer that traders might hold off ordering imported pork especially as the Filipinos’ purchasing power declined and as global prices of pork continued to increase.

The government was optimistic that raising the minimum access volume (MAV) for pork and lowering the tariffs would temper price increases. INQ