Food Terminals Inc. (FTI) has signed a memorandum of agreement with Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Foods PLC (CP Foods) recently with an aim to stabilize pork prices in Metro Manila.

According to the Department of Agriculture (DA), the memorandum, signed Friday, 28 March, outlines a pilot program where CP Foods will supply 100 live hogs a day at a discounted price.

The hogs will be sent directly to a slaughterhouse in Caloocan, bypassing transport from various farms. The hogs will then be processed into fresh pork carcasses, for distribution to retailers in wet markets.

FTI President Joseph Lo said if the program is successful, it will be extended to other hog raisers.

Capacity to meet volume required

In a statement, DA said the decision to partner with CP Foods was due to the company’s capacity to meet the volume required for the pilot.

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

“We need creative approaches like this deal between FTI and CP to modernize the pork industry’s supply chain, stabilize prices, and ensure food security,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said.

Significant Philippine investments

CP Foods, a leading integrated agro-industrial and food company, has invested significantly in expanding its operations in the Philippines.

In November 2024, the company revealed a P10-billion plan to build 20 new breeding farms and boost local pork production.

On 10 March, the DA implemented a maximum suggested retail price of P380 per kilo for liempo, P350 per kilo for kasim and pigue, and P300 per kilo for "sabit ulo," the prices at which traders sell pork to retailers. However, a week later, only 20 percent of retailers complied with the MSRP on pork in Metro Manila wet markets.