PSA revises conversion rates for livestock, poultry products

MANILA, Philippines —  The state statistical agency has revised a key parameter in estimating the nationwide supply and demand situation in the livestock and poultry sector.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) board has approved the adoption of the revised definitions and conversion rates of carcass and offal of select poultry and livestock animals, including hogs.

The parameters were updated for the first time in 30 years since the PSA adopted the current definitions and conversion rates back in 1995.

The revision will ensure that the statistical figures the PSA produces reflect current industry realities and ensure more accurate policymaking.

Under the updated parameters, the carcass conversion rate of hogs will now be 83 percent from the previous 70 percent. This means that for every 100-kilo hog, about 830 grams of pork are harvested compared to the previous estimate of 700 grams.

The PSA explained that the new definition of pork carcass now includes the head and feet of the hog which were excluded in the old definition. Pork carcass now just excludes offal and blood.

Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. president Danilo Fausto said the new pork conversion ratio reflects a “more realistic” on-the-ground situation since some hog farmers have improved their feeding practices, resulting in bigger pigs.

“The old conversion rate of 70 percent may indicate an artificial shortage. The 83 percent is more realistic and it will deter importation as it will show that we have more meat than we thought,” Fausto told The STAR.

Fausto explained that a lot of hog farms are already modernizing, with one key indication is that even small raisers are shying away from the use of swill and are opting to use animal feeds. This, Fausto added, could have been a positive consequence of the devastation caused by African swine fever (ASF) in the country since swill is one of the identified means of transmission of the fatal pig disease.

The inclusion of the head and feet in the carcass computation is also necessary since demand for these products have been growing in recent years, Fausto said.

“[The head] and feet are used for sisig and crispy pata and they are selling like hotcakes,” he said.

The PSA also revised its conversion rate for pork offal to 10.5 percent, lower than the 14.3 percent previous benchmark.

Pork offal includes mesenteric fat, small intestines, large intestine, stomach, anus/rectum/urinary bladder/genitals, heart, lungs with trachea, liver, kidneys, spleen, pancreas and diaphragm, based on the PSA’s new definition.

Last year, the country’s pork imports rose by 24 percent to 733,729 metric tons from 591,888 MT in 2023, based on Bureau of Animal Industry data.

Meanwhile, hog output last year contracted by five percent year-on-year to 1.7 million MT from 1.79 million MT.

The PSA explained that the revision of the parameters underwent rigorous processes including multiple activities by a technical working group that involved survey of key informants, actual observation of slaughter operations, focus group discussion and consultative meetings with private sector and government agencies.

The PSA also defined the definitions and conversion rates of carabao, cattle, goat and chicken. Most of the revisions involved upward adjustments in the overall conversion rates of the commodities, particularly for their offal.