BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Swine raisers in Negros Occidental diverted some of their shipments to Metro Manila amid the ongoing entry ban on pork and pork byproducts in Cebu.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said some of the hog raisers had no other choice but to ship their products to Luzon as it is easier, although the pricing is significantly lower compared to Eastern Visayas.
Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) officer-in-charge, Dr. Placeda Lemana, on Thursday said commercial hog raisers have opted to ship their pork products to Mindanao via Dipolog City in Zamboanga del Norte.
However, the transport cost to Mindanao is too expensive as some of the products will be shipped to far-flung towns and cities.
Since March 7, Lacson said hog raisers have already sent around 1,100 hog heads to Manila.
He added the pork being sold in Manila is around P20 less compared to those being sold in Eastern Visayas.
The governor, meanwhile, denied rumors circulating online that the reason why Cebu governor Gwendolyn Garcia has not responded to his appeal letter was due to the ongoing proposal to reestablish the Negros Island Region (NIR).
“No, definitely no. I don’t think there is any relation to that,” Lacson said.
He further said he has yet to call his Cebu counterpart directly on the phone to renew his appeal of letting hog shipments from Negros Occidental pass through Cebu province.
“I’m just hoping we could get her response, whether it’s a positive development or not,” he added.
On Thursday, Lemana said Negros Occidental swine raisers were losing P18 million a week due to the ongoing hog ban in Cebu.
Garcia issued an executive order implementing a temporary ban on the entry of live hogs, sows, piglets, boar semen, pork, and pork-related products from Negros Island from March 6 to April 5, 2023. This came after African Swine Fever (ASF) was detected in Carcar City, Cebu.
The ASF-positive swine allegedly mingled with those from Negros Island but both the Occidental and Oriental provinces remain ASF-free.
Carcar City was placed under a state of calamity on March 13.
Lacson and Bacolod City mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez issued a joint executive order on March 7 prohibiting the entry of pork products from Cebu province.
Canned goods were exempted as most of Negros’ imports originated from Cebu.
Negros Occidental is one of the top backyard hog producers in the country, with an industry pegged at more than P6 billion./PN