Deferment of pork exports to S’pore urged

The National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc. (NFHFI) is urging Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap to defer the approval of pork exports to Singapore as the domestic hog industry has not yet fully recovered from the stock devastation caused by a still unknown disease.

According to NFHFI vice chairman Renato R. Eleria, planned pork exports to Singapore should be temporarily put off until the government has ensured domestic food security.

Eleria pointed out that the local hog industry remains highly vulnerable to a recurrence of a still unknown disease that almost wiped out the backyard hog industry which accounts for 70 percent of total production.

He said the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), Eleria has not been able to pinpointed what disease affected the backyard hog industry last year. Eleria said there are suspicions that it was  Asian influenza and that some of the European vaccines used to inoculate local hog stocks may not have been effective in preventing the disease.

A recurrence of the disease this year could put the country’s remaining hog stock at risk, Eleria warned.

The disease last year that hit the local hog industry caused pork prices to rise to P180 per kilo. Current prices are at P180 to P212 per kilo although farmgate or live weight prices have dropped for the time being to P105 per kilo for commercial hogs and P95 per kilo for backyard hogs.

Hog prices are temporarily down, Eleria said as families cut down on certain purchases and alloting more on school expenses.

He said retail prices remain high due to a number of factors including transport cost and the profit margin of the viajeros. However, consumers are bound to resist any further price hikes in pork prices, and well shift to chicken and fish instead, he added.