October 26,  2020

Pork prices in Metro Manila, Philippines, rising to 38%

The prices of pork in Metro Manila, the Philippines, have spiked by 38% due to tight supply, Inquirer reported on October 24.

Based on price monitoring reports provided by the Department of Agriculture (DA), a kilogramme of pork ham and pork belly are sold for ₱300 (US$6.20) and ₱320 (US$6.61) on average. In other public markets, however, prices have peaked to as high as ₱320 and ₱360 (US$7.44), respectively. These are 33% and 38% higher from prevailing prices a month ago, pegged at ₱240 (US$4.96) and ₱260 (US$5.37) a kilo and are almost the same rates as a kilo of beef.

Bureau of Animal Industry Director Ron Domingo said the Philippines's swine inventory had already dropped by 20% due to African swine fever (ASF). Local hog producers have slowed down production or decided to abandon hog raising altogether.

While there is sufficient supply of pork in the Visayas and Mindanao, Domingo added that transport costs have pushed retail prices up.

Pork prices are expected to rise further in the coming months, factoring in the traditionally high demand for pork during the holiday season.

According to Domingo, the DA has put in place several measures to boost hog production.

"We've been helping hog growers in Visayas and Mindanao in ramping up their production. Areas that are affected with ASF are assisted if they would like to venture into raising other livestock animals. We also talked to some groups and we're expecting the release of more pork in the market by December," he said.

- Inquirer.net