Pork prices hike in Cebu City due to low supply

Cebu City’s pork consumers are now paying up to ₱60 more per kilo due to low supply.

Pork belly, for example, now costs ₱350 per kilo compared to its average price of ₱290 in January.

Erwin Gok-ong, president of the Cebu Market Vendors Multi-purpose Cooperative (CEMVEDCO), told media that pork prices have been rising since March, following a supply decline that began in January.

The decrease in supply is due to the presence of African swine fever (ASF) in Bohol, said Dr. Alice Utlang, chief of the Cebu City Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF).

Gok-ong said live hogs from Bohol were denied entry about two weeks ago because of ASF—a highly contagious viral disease that affects domestic and wild pigs. It causes hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates, often approaching 100 percent in domestic pigs.

Only 28,426 hogs were slaughtered in Cebu City’s slaughterhouses in the first quarter of 2025—a 23 percent drop from the 36,920 hogs slaughtered during the same period in 2024.

The supply of live hogs from southern Cebu has also declined, and backyard hog raisers from Cebu City’s mountain barangays have yet to begin harvesting.

Cebu City currently relies on farms in northern Cebu and imported pork to meet demand.

Based on initial assessments, backyard hog raisers in Cebu City are expected to begin harvesting in the first week of May.

Gok-ong, however, noted that the supply from the mountain barangays is expected to be minimal and will not be enough to meet the city’s pork demand.