DA to proceed with pork max SRP

MANILA, Philippines —  A maximum suggested retail price (SRP) for pork will be implemented as retail prices have reached P480 per kilo, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

“There is still no definite date (on implementing a max SRP for pork), but it is important to find a solution to this,” Agriculture Assistant Secretary and Arnel de Mesa said yesterday.

Based on the DA’s monitoring of Metro Manila markets, the retail price of pork shoulder ranged between P345 and P420 per kilo and pork belly, between P380 and P480 per kilo.

The farmgate price of pork only ranged between P220 and P240 per kilo, De Mesa noted.

“If you include the additional cost of P100 to P150, the retail price should only be P350, P360, P380, but we are seeing P450, P460, P480, P450. There is something wrong with the pricing in the markets,” he said.

Hog raisers have recovered after farms were hit by African swine fever in the third quarter of 2024, De Mesa recalled.