• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Negros Occidental is now experiencing shortage of pork meat as indicated by its high prices.
This was confirmed yesterday by Rick Lauron, president of Alliance of Hog Raisers Association of Negros Occidental, who estimated a 50 percent shortage in pork meat after the hog industry was hit by African swine fever (ASF) and hog cholera last year.
Lauron said that due to limited supply, hog raisers in the province no longer export live hogs to prioritize the Negrense consumers.
A kilo of pork meat is reportedly being sold for as high as P420 in Bacolod City and other local government units in Negros Occidental.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that hog production in Negros Occidental decreased by 4.79 percent in 2023 due to ASF and hog cholera.
Last year, the province produced only 58,182.10 metric tons (MT) of hogs compared to 61,109.27 MT in 2022.
Data also showed that swine inventory in January this year declined by 16.21 percent to only 413,217 heads compared to 493,152 heads in January 2023.
Lauron said that many meat shops are not selling pork regularly due to limited supply.
“It may take about two months” for the local hog industry to recover, he added.
To meet the demand, the highly- urbanized Bacolod City opened its borders for the entry of live pigs, pork and its related products from other areas of the country.
On the contrary, the provincial government of Negros Occidental continues to ban the “entry of all live pigs, boar semen, pork, pork products, and other pork-related food items from areas with reported cases of ASF into the province.”
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson issued an executive order which bans the entry of hogs and pork products from Bacolod City, Negros Oriental, Luzon, Mindanao, Eastern Visayas, Panay Island, Guimaras Island, Cebu province including Camotes and Bantayan Islands, and countries affected by ASF as may be detected by the Department of Agriculture.
Lauron said that they are supporting the stand of the provincial government as he hoped that the ban will be strictly enforced in all entry points of Negros Occidental. | GB
