THE price freeze on pork recommended by the Department of Agriculture to President Rodrigo Duterte could result in short supply in Luzon because traders may no longer want to source hogs from as far as Mindanao and the Visayas.

This was the warning issued by Engr. Rosendo So, chairman of the Samahan ng Industriya at Agrikultura, amid the rising prices of both pork and chicken.

At presstime, pork is being sold in markets from P450 to P480 per kilo, more than double its usual P210 to P220 price  per kilo during the pre-pandemic period. The price of chicken is P180 per kilo from P120 during early part of last year.

So blamed the shortage of hogs in Luzon to the African Swine Fever (ASF) that raged on starting since the first semester of 2019, first decimating hogs being raised in backyards before infecting hogs raised in farms.

The situation compelled traders to source hogs from the Visayas and Mindanao which remained relatively free from ASF till today, said So, adding that since they are sourcing  hogs from across the sea, they are forced to raise their price.

So said in Pangasinan alone, about 90 percent of its hog population were culled in a bid to halt the spread of ASF or had died, leaving only 10 percent  in the hands of farm owners.

The onslaught of ASF was a big setback for hog farmers in Pangasinan who were then one of the biggest producers of hogs that were being supplied to Metro Manila, Baguio and other parts of  Region 1.

DA also recommended the importation of pork from other countries in order to stabilize the price of pork in Philippine markets since the spread of ASF has not been fully contained.

Unlike pork, the supply of chicken in the market in Pangasinan remains stable but DA blamed its price increase to price manipulation by unscrupulous traders. (Leonardo Micua)

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