Pork supply down by 40% due to ASF
PORK supply in Luzon is down by 35 to 40 percent due to the African Swine Fever (ASF) that has hit many piggeries.
Samahan ng Industriyang Agrikultura chairman Rosendo So told the virtual forum of the KBP-Pangasinan chapter, via ZoomApp on Thursday that an estimated 350 sows that died in Luzon translates to 380,000 heads monthly.
“At an average of 65 kilos per head, it means 24,700,000 kilos were lost in Luzon,” So said.
To illustrate the shortage in Luzon, he said to replace the lost pork with chicken at one kilo each, 27 million heads would be needed.
He warned that the lack of pork supply is expected to worsen in August as most piggery owners had stopped raising swine, citing his piggery farm alone, he is left raising only 150, from normal level of 1,000 sows.
This is the usual scenario now among hograisers who retained about 10 to 15 percent only of sows that they used to raise, So said.
He said the deficit can be augmented by supply coming from Mindanao but the arrival of the goods is not continuous that prompted Sinag to remind the Department of Agriculture since April to help ease the shipment of hog raisers from Mindanao.
So said the country cannot import from other countries because these are also suffering from ASF or Foot and Mouth Disease.
The nearest alternative source is Mindanao and Visayas areas, he said.
So said at present, a kilo of live weight for swine is as high as P180 and retail price in the market reaches P250 a kilo while a kilo of imported forzen pork is from P280 to P290, So added. (PhilStar Wire Service/ECV)
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