Luzon hog raisers lose P100 billion to ASF

MANILA, Philippines — Hog raisers in Luzon have lost P100 billion as African swine fever (ASF) continues to spread in the country, according to Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines Inc. chairperson and Agap party-list Rep. Nicanor Briones.

In a radio interview yesterday, Briones said 50 percent of the hog population in the country had been affected since the first case of ASF was recorded in 2019.

There was a 50 percent decline in the country’s livestock population due to ASF, he added.

Briones warned the public that the hog industry would suffer if the spread of ASF in the Visayas and Mindanao will not be contained.

Only the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is free from ASF, data from the Bureau of Animal Industry as of March 5 showed.

Briones urged the government to allocate a budget for 10 percent of the country’s livestock population and provide at least P10,000 in compensation to affected hog raisers.

He said the retail price of pork may continue to increase amid the shortage in supply.

”The farmgate price of pork is now at P215 per kilo,” Briones said.

The Department of Agriculture said the retail price of pork liempo reached as high as P420 per kilo this week compared to P390 per kilo last week.