KALIBO, Aklan – The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Aklan is set to hold a legislative inquiry on the rising prices of meat products in the province.
“The attention of this representation was called by the media sector on the alleged sudden increase in the prices of meat, particularly chicken and pork, in Aklan,” said SP member Nemesio Neron who pushed for the inquiry.
Unreasonable increases in prices would hurt consumers, he explained.
The inquiry is on Feb. 2. It would be jointly conducted by the SP Committee on Agriculture and Aquatic Resources and the Committee on Trade, Industry and Commerce.
A legislative inquiry is a fact-finding exercise aimed at gathering data and information needed to support the legislative process.
Meat prices surge as African swine fever (ASF) decimates hog populations across Luzon, while chicken supplies dropped due to numerous poultry farms going bankrupt last year.
In Metro Manila, pork products like pork belly now cost between P380 and P400 a kilo in major public markets – way higher than the suggested retail price of P225 a kilo.
Earlier this week, Agriculture secretary William Dar said the country was now under state of calamity due to high prices of goods such as pork, chicken, vegetables, and fruit.
Dar cited the persistence of ASF in farms, the typhoons that devastated crops, and the alleged price manipulation among traders and re-sellers as possible reasons.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has likewise recommended to President Rodrigo Duterte the implementation of a price freeze.
An inquiry on the rising prices of pork in the market is also being pushed in the House of Representatives.
Marikina City’s Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo said one of the possible reasons behind the high prices of pork are anti-competitive practices such as “collusion among traders which could keep wholesale and retail pork prices high while keeping hog farmgate prices low.” (JAP/PN)
