By Dolly Yasa
BACOLOD City – The pork ban imposed recently by the Cebu provincial government will adversely affect the local pork industry.
Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia-Yulo of Moises Padilla, Negros Occidental said the ban will have an impact on the town’s local economy being the livestock capital of the province.
The mayor said “compradors” from Cebu are among the top buyers of livestock, especially live pigs to be brought back and sold in that province.
Earlier, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson requested Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia to allow the passage of pork shipment products from Negros Occidental bound for Eastern Visayas to pass through Cebu.
Garcia ordered the ban on the entry of live pigs and pork-related products from Negros Island after African Swine Fever cases were detected in Cebu City from pigs that allegedly mingled with those originating from Negros.
As an offshoot, Negros Occidental and Bacolod City ordered the banning of live pigs, boar semen, pork, and its by-products.
Lacson said he already wrote a letter to Garcia asking to lift her executive order, stressing that Negros Occidental has not been placed in the “red zone” for ASF cases.
But Lacson admitted that it is becoming challenging, as Negros Island is now surrounded by provinces with ASF cases.
Negros Occidental and Bacolod City have banned the entry of live pigs and pork-related products from Panay Island and Guimaras due to the detection of ASF cases in those provinces.
Lacson suggested that hog farmers in Negros Occidental send their shipments to Manila as an alternative.
But he said the current pricing of pork in Manila is very low.
