Pork stakeholders review cost structures to lower prices

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said Tuesday that key stakeholders in the pork industry have agreed to review their cost structures to help reduce meat prices.

The agreement followed a consultative meeting aimed at identifying the factors driving rising pork prices and evaluating the need for a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP). 

Laurel noted that high pork prices are a short-term issue and should be addressed soon, especially with the anticipated commercial availability of the African Swine Fever (ASF) vaccine. The Bureau of Animal Industry hopes that positive results from vaccine trials will prompt the Food and Drug Administration to approve it for commercial use.

“We all agreed that high pork prices are a short-term problem that should soon be resolved,” Laurel said.

Laurel added that the Department of Agriculture (DA) is working to balance the interests of both consumers and those involved in the pork industry.

“The clamor to bring the price of pork down is coming not just from consumers but from retailers as well; their sales are going down,” he said.

Farmers' group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) advised the DA to temporarily refrain from imposing an MSRP, as farm gate prices for pork have already started to decrease from P250 per kilo.

Laurel explained that among the cost structures under review are those of "viajeros" or traders, which are estimated to add P80 per kilo of pork.

Based on the DA’s latest monitoring, the average prices for pork ham and pork belly are P383 and P434 per kilo, respectively. Frozen kasim averages P325 per kilo, while frozen liempo averages P312 per kilo.