There is still no supply of pigs from the Department of Agriculture so the sellers at the Murphy Market in Quezon City have not been able to follow the enforced price ceiling for several days.
“Sa ngayon, ‘di namin kayang sundin ang price ceiling ng DA dahil din po sa sobrang taas na ibinibigay sa amin—na ina-outsource namin sa Quezon o Batangas ang baboy namin,” according to Von Ocbeña, one of the main dealers/suppliers in the market.
Last week, they received 260 heads of pork from Mindanao, but this has not been followed. They shared that and 80 heads went to Murphy Market which lasted only two days.
“Simula po noong nagkaroon ng price ceiling, doon po talaga bumili ang mga mamimili ng baboy. Nag boom po ang baboy ngayon simula nang mag price ceiling ang DA,” Ocbeña said in an interview with TeleRadyo.
When the new supply of pork arrives, they will lower the price again.
“Two days na kaming hindi makasunod sa price ceiling. Hangga’t kaya, ibibigay namin kahit maliit ang kita basta makatulong sa mamimili,” he said.
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Pork vendors waiting for supply from DA
Meanwhile, the group of pork producers is worried about the cases of African swine fever in Cagayan De Oro City and Misamis Oriental.
According to the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines, this could affect Mindanao’s supply of pork to Metro Manila.
“Ang Mindanao, nasa halos 30 percent or 25 percent ng baboy sa buong Pilipinas, diyan nanggagaling kaya dapat mapigil [ang pagkalat ng ASF] dahil kung hindi, lalo tayong magkakaroon ng kakulangan,” said Nicanor Briones, vice president of the group.
DA Region 10 sent up to 8 container vans containing 580 pigs to Metro Manila. This Tuesday morning, about 1,350 live pigs were transported from Talao-Talao Port in Lucena City to Metro Manila.
The Department of Agriculture said Monday that it will be difficult to replenish the pork supply in Luzon as long as there is no African swine fever (ASF) vaccine.
The solution for the DA is to increase imported meat to fill the market shortage.