ILOILO City – The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas assured the public of enough pork supply during the Christmas holidays and weeks thereafter.
“When it comes sa supply, wala kita kulba,” said Dr. John Hilario Jr., head of DA-6’s Bureau of Animal Industry-Veterinary Quarantine Service.
According to Hilario, the pork supply in the region is “stable” and that it is “more than enough” to fill the demand this holiday season.
In fact, he said, “Pirme kita ya surplus sang hogs and pork products diri.”
With the majority of the provinces and cities in Region 6 placed under less restrictive community quarantine, Hilario likewise revealed swine raisers resumed shipping hogs and pork products to areas in Luzon.
“From 1,000 heads of live hogs nga gin-ship sa Luzon sang June, I think lately we already reached around mga 16,000 by November. We have created a projection of more or less 2,000 increase this December,” said Hilario.
In some areas in Luzon, particularly Batangas and Bulacan, the live-weight price of hogs rose to as much as P185 per kilogram due to the devastating effects of the African swine fever (ASF).
But Hilario said Western Visayas remains ASF-free and continues to strictly monitor the possible entry of pork and its by-products from other parts of the country.
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 the region.
The importation of pork products originating from Luzon and Mindanao has been banned since last year./PN
