Consumers in Metro Manila can expect relief at the markets this holiday season as the Department of Agriculture (DA) sets maximum suggested retail prices (MSRP) for pork starting today. 

Under the new administrative circular, pork liempo will be capped at P370 per kilo, while kasim and pigue cannot be sold for more than P330 per kilo across public and private wet markets in the National Capital Region. 

The move targets to protect households from soaring costs while ensuring fair returns for pork producers.

“We have to restore some sanity in the retail price of pork, a favorite protein source among Filipinos that is in high demand especially during the Christmas season,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. said on Friday.

To protect growers, the DA previously struck an agreement with hog producers establishing a minimum farm-gate price of P210 per kilo, ensuring that backyard and commercial raisers maintain sustainable margins despite earlier depressed prices.

The recommended MSRPs, based on a detailed supply-and-demand assessment by Undersecretary for Livestock Danta Palabrica, were confirmed to meet Metro Manila’s pork requirements and reinforced during a 22 November online consultative meeting addressing holiday-driven price volatility.

Retail prices have spiked in recent weeks, with liempo reaching as high as P480 per kilo in early November, raising concerns for consumers preparing for the peak holiday season. 

“Those prices are absurd given how farm gate prices have fallen recently, threatening the viability of small and medium-sized hog raisers,” Secretary Tiu Laurel added, highlighting the strain on both households and producers.

The Bantay Presyo Technical Committee, working with the livestock office and the DA’s Agribusiness Marketing and Assistance Service, formulated the suggested retail prices based on historical liveweight hog trends as well as wholesale and retail movements. 

The DA invoked a law allowing it to set suggested retail prices for essential food commodities to stabilize the market. 

The circular takes effect immediately and will remain in force until revoked, providing consumers holiday-price relief while ensuring hog raisers maintain a viable supply chain during the season’s peak demand.