May 5, 2020

 

Philippine city, province lift pork ban from Mindanao

 

 

Cebu City and Southern Leyte in the Philippines have lifted trade restrictions and reopened their borders to hogs and pork products from Mindanao that are ASF-free , said the Department of Agriculture (DA), reported Business Mirror.

 

The DA said Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella issued Executive Order (EO) 72 on April 28, lifting the ban on live hogs, pork, and pork by-products in Cebu City.

 

The DA added that Southern Leyte Governor Damian Mercado issued an EO, allowing the entry and pass-through of ASF-free hogs, pork, pork by-products, via Liloan Port, a vital link in the country's "nautical highway."

 

"We commend Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella and Southern Leyte Governor Damian Mercado for issuing respective executive orders, lifting the ban on hogs, pork, and pork by-products from Mindanao, and allowing these to be traded, processed and consumed, benefiting their constituents and processors alike," Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said.

 

The DA said the opening of Liloan Port is key to ship surplus pork from Mindanao as it connects Southern Leyte to Visayas and Mindanao, and to Samar via San Juanico Bridge onto Matnog, Sorsogon, which is Luzon's southern gateway.

 

The DA said it has received commitments from hog raisers in Davao, General Santos and Cagayan de Oro that they have surplus hogs and frozen pork, aptly called "pork-in-a-box," initially amounting to 1.7 million kilogrammes or 1,700 tonnes ready to be shipped to Cebu, Leyte, and Luzon.

 

"The decision to supply pork to Luzon is not only ours in Davao region but also from other hog farmers in Mindanao," Hog Farmers Association of Davao Inc. President Eduardo So was quoted as saying. "It is our simple way of saying 'Support local farmers first' instead of prioritising imported meat."

 

Chester Warren Tan, president and chairman of the National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc., said their members in General Santos City are ready to ship 'pork-in-a-box' initially at 20 to 30 20-foot refrigerated containers to Luzon.

 

Dar has instructed Agriculture Undersecretaries Evelyn Laviña and Zamzamin Ampatuan to coordinate with Mindanao hog raisers to facilitate the shipping of surplus pork to Luzon and Visayas.

 

Davao has committed to supply around 500 tonnes of pork monthly, while those in General Santos and CDO can ship 3,000 tonnes monthly to Visayas and Luzon, according to DA.

 

"We hope other local chief executives will consider freeing their borders and allowing unhampered movement of not only ASF-free hogs and pork, but also other farm and fishery products to maintain stable food supply and prices, thus benefiting all players in the food supply chain," said Dar said.