Increase in pork prices expected – hog raisers

MANILA, Philippines — An increase in the retail price of pork is expected with the anticipated hike in demand during the holiday season, the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines (PPFP) said yesterday.

In a radio interview, PPFP president Rolando Tambago said that even though the farmgate price of pork is low, once the product reaches the market through traders and retailers, it can be sold as high as P380 and P400, especially pork belly.

“The traders who buy from piggeries will sell the pigs to the viajeros until the pork reaches the retailers and the consumers. Usually, it passes at least five hands before it reaches the consumers,” Tambago noted.

“There is a big possibility that the retail price of pork will increase because of the demand during Christmas but we are hoping that it is not that big,” he added.

Based on monitoring of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Metro Manila markets, the retail price of pork shoulder ranges between P260 and P370 per kilo and pork belly, between P310 and P400 per kilo.

However, Tambago said there is still enough supply of pork since the demand for pork in the past months was low because of the outbreak of African swine fever.

Farmers’ group Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) yesterday described as “overkill” the flooding of imported rice, saying the palay harvest has already started.

“When the harvest of local farmers starts, the retail price of rice will naturally go down. There is no need for a lower tariff as there is oversupply,” FFF national manager Raul Montemayor said.

Montemayor said the local harvest will peak in October but the farmers are already affected by the decrease in the farmgate price of palay.

“From the previous farmgate price between P25 and P27 (per kilo), it is now down to P22 to P23 (per kilo) when the harvest has just started,” Montemayor said.

He added that despite the flooding of imported rice the retail price of rice remained high.

From July 7 to September with the implementation of Executive Order 62 lowering the tariff to 15 percent, at least 800,000 metric tons of imported rice have arrived in the country.

“The consumers did not benefit from the lower tariff while the farmers are