FMD scare, other woes dog Bulacan hograisers

MALOLOS, Bulacan -- The price of pork in Metro Manila is expected to rise significantly in the next few months as foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and other problems continue to hound the backyard hograising industry in this province, which supplies about 50 percent of the pork needs of Metro Manila.

Dr. Francisco Gulinao, the provincial veterinarian, told The STAR that local swine production has plunged from about 1.5 million heads in the third quarter of last year to only about a million this year, largely due to FMD.

"FMD has never been in epidemic proportions, but it has scared off many local swine raisers," Gulinao said, adding that pork production is expected to go down further in the next few months.

Gulinao said the FMD scare has already almost wiped out the local backyard hograising industry, which accounts for about 40 percent of the total swine production in Bulacan, Central Luzon's traditional top pork producer.

Commercial hograisers, mostly from San Ildefonso and San Miguel, supply most of the pork reaching Metro Manila.

Aside from FMD, backyard hograisers have also been discouraged by the small margin of profit they earn. Each hograiser spends about P4,000 to raise a piglet until it weighs 90 kilos in four to five months, and then sells it at a "farm gate" price of only P58 per kilo, yielding a profit of only about P1,600, Gulinao said.

He noted that scarcity of pork in Bulacan has already jacked up its cost, with pata or pork legs selling at P80 per kilo and pork chops at P110 per kilo.

"The effects of the worsening situation in the swine industry here will be seen in the third or fourth quarter of this year," Gulinao said.

He said many backyard hograisers have also been "blacklisted" by lending institutions in the province due to their failure to pay loans for various reasons, including FMD which has forced them to sell their animals at losing prices.

But Gulinao said the prices of pork and other meat products would also depend on the prices of petroleum products and the peso-dollar exchange rate.

He said 70 percent of livestock feeds in Bulacan and other parts of the country are imported, stressing that the cost of the feeds depends on the dollar exchange.

Meanwhile, Gulinao lamented the proliferation of imported frozen chicken legs being sold in Bulacan, particularly in Pulilan, Buliuag and Meycauayan, which he said has severely affected the local chicken industry.

"The imported chicken parts are sold for as low as P40 per kilo compared to local chicken which costs P75 per kilo," he said.

He cited reports that chicken meat processors in Pampanga have been importing chicken legs now flooding local markets.

"The imports are supposed to be for processing but are being shifted instead to the wet markets for more profits," he said.