Hog raisers warn of pork price spike

MANILA, Philippines — Hog raisers’ groups yesterday warned of a spike in the retail prices of pork in the coming weeks with the expected increase in demand during the holiday season if the pace of the vaccination program against African swine fever (ASF) remains slow.

Feed millers in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon are losing substantial sales revenue as hogs continue to die because of ASF, according to Batangas Sorosoro Ibaba Development Cooperative chief executive officer Rico Geron.

“We are anticipating that pork meat prices will increase in the coming weeks toward the holiday season if the rolling out of the ASF vaccine inoculation process is not done faster,” Geron added.

Meanwhile, Cavite Farmers Feedmilling and Marketing Cooperative general manager Alice Maraan complained that her group does not know where to get the vaccine against ASF.

“If our members who are into backyard hog-raising are affected by the ASF, feed millers also suffer. What we want is for the government to doubly speed up the vaccination process,” Maraan said.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) started the vaccination of hogs in Lobo, Batangas, ground zero of the ASF outbreaks on Aug. 30.

Since then, only 41 hogs were inoculated against ASF and six piglets died because of pulmonary diseases.

AGAP party-list Rep. Nick Briones said during the Senate hearing last week that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has delayed the rollout of the inoculation process because the agency needed the vaccine to undergo clinical testing to obtain a Certificate of Product Registration.

FDA director general Samuel Zacate has said there are four vaccines for ASF undergoing local clinical trials.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has maintained that the DA is working to expedite the approval of vaccines for ASF, which he said could take six months “in the best-case scenario.”

Briones noted that based on records of the BAI as of Sept. 6, pigs from 14 regions, 31 provinces, 109 municipalities and 472 barangays have been hit by ASF.