BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Consumers need not worry about supplies for the holidays. Producers have assured the public of enough stocks, particularly of pork and chicken.
Dr. Renante Decena, Negros Occidental provincial government veterinarian, said the current farm gate price of pork has not increased, which means that supply is more than the demand.
The price of pork is currently averaging at P200 per kilo in Negros Occidental and P220 in Bacolod City.
Dressed chicken, meanwhile, is priced at P150 to 155 per kilo.
Aside from local supply, Decena said Manila and Cebu are currently the outlet for backyard and commercial meat producers. The province is exporting around 800 to 1,000 hogs to Metro Manila every week – of which 80 percent come from backyard raisers and another 20 percent from commercial raisers.
Around 9,000 market hogs are also being released every month, raising hopes of an early recovery for hog raisers who have also felt the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The supply of ham, a favorite pork product during the Christmas holidays, is also not affected by the current import ban of pork products in Negros Occidental. There are now two local manufacturers available in the province, said Decena.
The importation of pork products originating from Luzon and Mindanao has been banned since last year due to the African swine fever./PN
