BACOLOD City – Hog raisers in Negros Occidental shipped 6,894 heads of live pigs to various destinations in Luzon and other parts of the Visayas in January, records of the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) have shown.
Dr. Renante Decena, the provincial veterinarian, said in a statement on Tuesday that at this point, there is no need to stop the shipment to Metro Manila amid the increase in pork prices.
“Not really because 60 to 70% of the shipment to Manila is from commercial raisers and we have still surplus in supply,” he added.
In a report submitted to Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, the PVO said that on January 30, Negros Occidental was able to ship out hogs supply via ports in the cities of Escalante, Sagay, and Bacolod.
Last month, a total of 102 hog vans and 120 trucks used for the shipment were disinfected upon arrival at different ports of entry.
Negros Occidental’s status as one of the few provinces in the country considered as free from African swine fever has allowed local hog raisers to supply live pigs to different parts of Luzon, which was affected by the ASF.
Decena said the earlier pronouncement of Alliance of Hog Raisers Associations in Negros Occidental president Ric Lauron that they have agreed to temporarily stop supplying hogs to Manila to bring down the prices of pork in the province was just his stand.
“The decision to stop the shipment is through an executive order. There’s no order yet from Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson to stop supplying hogs to the Luzon market,” the PVO chief said.
Decena said he believes that once the price cap of the national government takes effect, the buying price of live hogs will also go down.
The PVO’s latest monitoring showed an average increase of PHP15.69 per kilo in the prices of pork in the province compared to the cost in the past two weeks.
This week, the prevailing market price of pork is PHP220.45 per kilo, from only PHP204.76 and PHP213.40 on January 18 and 25, respectively. The highest price was noted in Bacolod City, at PHP260 per kilo. (PNA)
