Hog producers in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) committed on Saturday to further increase their shipments to Metro Manila to help address the pork supply shortage in the markets.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar said members of the South Cotabato Swine Producers Association (Socospa) agreed to consolidate the available hog resources in the area to maximize their deliveries.
He said the city and South Cotabato, which are among the areas in the country that remain free from the African swine fever (ASF), have been shipping around 10,000 heads of live hogs and frozen carcasses every week or 40,000 heads every month to Metro Manila.
“That’s the barest minimum that they can deliver and could still be increased,” he said in a press conference.
Dar, who met with Socospa members at the Greenleaf Hotel here on Saturday, said they were able to negotiate a farm gate price of PHP144 per kilo for the pork shipments based on the prevailing rates.
He said the government, through the Department of Agriculture (DA)-Region 12, will provide a transport subsidy of PHP21 per kilo to increase the base price to PHP165 per kilo.
To facilitate the unhampered pork shipments and deliveries, he said the agency will fast-track the processing of the required documents and ensure their access in the “special hog lanes” along the nautical highway.
He said the special lanes cover all “roll on, roll off” (Ro-Ro) and trucking routes along the Maharlika Highway.
Dar said he instructed the Bureau of Animal Industry and DA-12 to make sure that all these would be laid out smoothly “without sacrificing the quarantine protocols” on ASF.
He said Socospa agreed to maintain their farm gate price to complement the price cap or ceiling for pork products in Metro Manila based on Executive Order No. 124 issued on Feb. 1 by President Rodrigo Duterte.
It set a price ceiling of PHP270 per kilo for kasim (pork shoulder)/pigue (pork leg) and PHP300 per kilo for liempo (pork belly) for at least two months.
With the prevailing rate, Dar said traders will still have a reasonable income and the prices of pork products will not increase further.
“We are helping our hog raisers on this, that’s the number one priority. They should earn enough along with all those involved in the supply chain. In the end, there will be affordable pork supplies for the consuming public,” he said.
Clinton Edward Ang, Socospa president, lauded the DA for initiating the opening of the “special hog lanes” and for providing them with additional shipping alternatives, among them the mobilization of vessels commissioned to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
He said the area has enough surplus of live hogs and frozen carcasses to supply the other markets but was constrained by transportation and shipping problems.
“Our concern had always been on how to deliver them to Luzon. We thank the DA for making the hog lane, especially for the land trips as there are really a lot of obstructions along the way,” he said.
Ang assured that they can further increase their shipments to Metro Manila from the current 40,000 heads a month and at the same time continue sustaining the requirements of the local markets.
“As much as possible, we will try to ship (out) what we can,” he said.
Dar and other top DA officials were in the city as part of a two-day swing in Region 12.
On Saturday, Dar also led the ceremonial send-off at the DA-Agricultural Program Coordinating Office in Barangay Lagao of some 260 live hogs worth PHP4 million bound for Metro Manila.
He graced the distribution on Friday of some PHP13 million worth of agricultural and fishery support packages to farmers and fisherfolk from the municipalities of Maasim, Kiamba, and Maitum in Sarangani province.
He also joined the signing of the memorandum of agreement for the pilot implementation of the Provincial-led Agriculture and Fishery Extension Systems program in Sarangani.
Sarangani will receive a grant of some PHP226 million this year for the rollout of the program, which aims to bring the agency’s extension services to the grassroots level. (PNA)
