The Department of Agriculture (DA) and local hog producers have agreed in a meeting on Tuesday to establish a minimum farmgate price of P210 per kilo for live hogs, a measure aimed at rescuing the struggling swine industry from mounting financial losses.
Local producers, represented by the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG), National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc (NFHFI) and the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines (PROPORK), warned that farmgate prices had plunged to P150 to P180 per kilo—barely enough to cover production costs for backyard and commercial raisers.
In addition to the price floor, the DA and industry groups will recommend restoring the pork import tariff to 40 percent from the current 25 percent under Executive Order 62.
The DA also plans to reinstate a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for pork, with the level to be determined carefully to balance profitability across the supply chain and consumer protection. ### (By DA – OSEC Comms & photos by Joseph Henry Elamparo, AFID)
