By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter
THE testing requirements attached to receiving the African Swine Fever (ASF) vaccine and increased pork imports likely stalled hog farmers’ repopulation efforts, according to an industry representative.
“I think this is still a result of the ASF episode last year. A lot of backyard farmers and commercial farmers are still hesitant to repopulate,” National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc. vice-chairman Alfred Ng told BusinessWorld.
“The news on record pork imports during the first quarter of the year further added to their anxiety,” he added.
Mr. Ng noted that many hog farmers were reluctant to participate in the pilot test of an ASF vaccine “due to numerous testing procedures” that the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) is requiring them.
“If tested positive, their animals will once again be culled,” he said.
Hog production in the first quarter fell 3.7% year on year to 403.79 thousand metric tons on a liveweight basis.
The Philippines imported 70.45 million kilograms of pork in the January-March period, up 42.5% from year earlier. This total accounted for 53.2% of all meat that entered the country in the quarter.
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the contraction in hog production in the first quarter narrowed from the 4.3% decline posted a year earlier.
As of March 31, the swine inventory fell 11.3% year on year to 8.84 million head.
About 71.1% of the swine was grown by smallholder farms, while 26.1% and 2.8% were grown by commercial and semi-commercial farms, respectively.
“The government’s repopulation program grants were temporarily stopped,” Mr. Ng added.
Asked to comment on the declining hog production, Meat Importers and Traders Association President Jess C. Cham said: “The Department of Agriculture (DA) apparently has not been able to get ASF under control, which is quite understandable given the ferocity of the disease.”
“After declining by 900,000 tons since 2019, it is disheartening to see a further decline.”
The DA on Saturday expressed optimism for a possible commercial rollout of ASF vaccine before the end of 2025, citing a May 19 meeting between the BAI and Food and Drug Administration officials.
Mr. Cham said the drop in hog production was likely the reason behind the failure of a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for pork.
The MSRP, which was halted on May 13 after over two months following low compliance by pork dealers, was set at P300 per kilo for the whole slaughtered pig, P350 for pork shoulder and hind leg and P380 for pork belly.
“The MSRP was implemented with a requested cap on farm liveweight prices at P230 even when many affected farmers needed to sell at a higher price to recover their losses,” Mr. Ng said.
“Only big farms are on expansion mode, but it will still take some time to increase their population as it takes one year to produce a fattener pig,” he added.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. said industry participants had sought to discontinue the MSRP to allow for a recovery period.
To bring pork prices down, the DA should expand the (MAV) quota “to accommodate more pork importation at in quota rates.”
Mr. Laurel said in mid-May that the DA had allocated this year’s 54,210-metric ton minimum access volume (MAV) for pork.
“The MAV will have the same breakdown as last year,” he said. “We had to do it because of the tariff negotiations with the US.”
He said any changes to be made in the MAV allocation “will be for 2026.”
Pork imports under the MAV arrangement are charged a tariff of 15% for shipments within the quota allocation. Outside the quota, shipments pay a 25% tariff.
The DA said in April that it plans to overhaul the MAV system since the rules were formulated almost three decades ago, noting that the system has been “exploited by a small number of accredited importers.”
