FTI, CP Foods partner for cheaper pork sale

MANILA, Philippines — State-run Food Terminal Inc. has partnered with the local unit of Thai food conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Foods PLC (CP Foods) for a market linkage program that aims to stabilize pork prices in key markets amid elevated costs of meat products.

FTI president Joseph Lo signed a memorandum of agreement with CP Foods chief operating officer Nattakorn Sujipittham for a pilot program where the Thai firm will supply the former with 100 live hogs per day at a discounted price.

Under the partnership, the hogs will be delivered directly to a slaughterhouse in Caloocan to be processed for fresh pork carcasses.

The pork products will be delivered directly by the FTI to different retailers in various wet markets in Metro Manila, Rizal and Cavite, where bulk of the country’s meat consumption comes from.

The pork carcass shall follow the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) set by the DA at P300 per kilo while other cuts like pork liempo and pork kasim and pigue will also follow their MSRPs at P380 per kilo and P350 per kilo, respectively. The other pork cuts will be sold at prevailing market prices.

The pilot program will run for three months, or from April to June.

“If this pilot proves successful, we will extend it to other hog raisers, creating a broader solution to ensure pork remains affordably priced, with minimal shock to the industry,” Lo said.

He said CP Foods responded to FTI’s call for private sector collaboration in addressing the country’s pork supply challenges.

“We needed a company that could guarantee the volume we need at the price we were looking at to achieve our goals,” he said.

The FTI official said the live hogs of CP Foods will be bought at P230 per kilo.

FTI will be selling the pork carcasses to retailers at a price that will be enough to cover the corporation’s costs and prevent incurring losses, Lo said.

“We are at least making sure that food is available, food prices are fair and what we are doing is sustainable to help our consumers,” he said.

“Hopefully this project (will influence market prices),” he added.

Latest DA market monitoring reports showed that average fresh pork belly price in Metro Manila stood at P410 per kilo while pork ham averaged at P367 per kilo.