AGRICULTURE advocacy group Sinag on Tuesday reiterated that the influx of pork imports triggered the slump in liveweight hog prices.
Sinag Executive Director Jayson Cainglet made the statement after the Department of Agriculture (DA) claimed that fears of another African swine fever (ASF) outbreak ahead of the rainy season propelled piggeries to sell their hogs earlier than planned, pushing down farmgate prices.
The DA described this ‘fastbreak’ as the main reason behind the decline in farmgate prices rather than a surge in pork imports.
Citing Mindanao, the agency noted that hog prices also fell in the region despite little imported pork entering the region.
‘We reaffirm our position: the unprecedented level of pork imports over the past two years, under a reduced tariff regime, is the single biggest factor behind the steep drop in farmgate prices,’ Cainglet said.
‘Instead of blaming local hog raisers for a crisis that they did not cause, the government must confront the policies that have allowed cheap imported pork to flood the domestic market and put Filipino producers at a severe disadvantage,’ he added.
Industry data showed that the average liveweight price of hogs in Luzon stood at a low of P153.72 per kilo in August, while P131.66 per kilo in Visayas and Mindanao.
This was further lower than the P162.16 per kilo in July for Luzon and P131.98 per kilo for Visayas and Mindanao.
‘Our farmers are not the problem. They are bearing the cost of policies that have failed to protect and strengthen domestic food production and rural livelihoods,’ Cainglet said.
‘Local farmers deserve fair farmgate prices, meaningful support, and policies that protect their livelihoods and ensure the country’s food security.’
Figures from the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) indicated that pork imports reached 541,405 metric tons as of July, from last year’s 490,825 MT.
This year, BAI forecasts pork shipments to decline by around 50,000 MT from the 851,760 MT in 2025 owing to the increased local output and higher volume of imports last year by food processors.