No hike in prices of pork, chicken

MANILA, Philippines –  Pork producers assured the public yesterday that there is enough supply of prk and that there is no imminent rise in prices.

Such reassurance was echoed by Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala who called a press conference yesterday to say that there is enough pork and poultry, contrary to news reports of an impending rise in livestock prices due to an increase in the cost of feeds.

While some pork producers are concerned about a possible rise in commodity prices of such feed inputs as corn, soya and wheat, they said those factors may affect local prices only by the third quarter.

For the first quarter this year, Alcala said there is sufficient supply as a result of an oversupply in the fourth quarter last year.

In the poulty sector, Rita Palabyab of the Philippine Association of Broiler Integrators (PABI) said chicken prices should go down in the first quarter this year due to an oversupply in 2010.

She pointed out that there was an excess of breeder imports last year resulting in higher chicken production. She said chicken production last year grew by 10 percent to 15 percent. For 2011, PABI projects a growth of 12 percent.

Pork producers affiliated with the National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc. (NFHFI) and the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines are projecting a growth this year of three to seven percent as compared to the 1.5 percent growth in 2010.

The producers said this growth will be achieved if the DA will be able to control the entry of imports.

The livestock producers clarified that they are not against imports as long as such imports are used directly by meat/food processors and do not find their way to the local wetmarkets.