No Christmas ham shortage despite ASF

Christmas won’t be Christmas without ham. ASF fails to threaten the supply of ham for the upcoming holiday season. AFP

The Samahan ng Industriyang Agrikultura (SINAG) in Calasiao, Pangasinan has given their assurance that there will be no shortage of Christmas ham this Yuletide season.

SINAG Chairman Rosendo So said that since there are reports of the African swine fever in three areas in Luzon, the group will source their pork from backyard raisers and not from imports which may be tainted by ASF.

So gave this reaction after the food processors stated that they will cut their annual pork production by 15 percent.

The group, which is composed of 33 agricultural organizations across the country, is confident that it will not yield to the processors’ plan of cutting their pork production.

So stressed that data from the Bureau of Customs showed that pork processors imported only P9.3 billion of meat in the first half of this year, adding that this is a stark comparison to the total P300 billion annual figure.

He also said that the local pork supply is sufficient, adding that there is no need to import pork meat products.

Meanwhile, the pork supply in Davao region and the rest of Mindanao is said to be in abundance and ensured to be ASF-free.

“This region is also producing more than it could consume so supply is no problem,” said Dr. Armie Capuyan, regional focal person of the Department of Agriculture for ASF.

The Davao region accounts for almost a million hogs in annual production, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

PSA records showed that 83.69 per cent of hogs raised are produced by backyard growers, comprising about 757,297 hogs.