EDITORIAL - Capping pork prices

Amid protests from meat producers and retailers, the Department of Agriculture deferred to Feb. 8 the price caps imposed by President Duterte on pork and chicken products. The price ceilings were ordered amid soaring prices of pork and chicken, attributed mainly to the continuing spread of African swine fever.

ASF is now in the Visayas, which is supplying together with Mindanao much of the pork needs of Luzon. Depopulation continues in both backyard hog farms and large-scale production sites in Luzon to contain the spread of the hog disease. Because of tight pork supply, prices of chicken have also gone up.

While consumers certainly welcome the price caps, producers and dealers are complaining that the ceilings go against the law of supply and demand and would further hurt their ASF-battered livelihoods. The producers are also opposing the government’s plan to import pork and chicken to stabilize prices, saying it could kill local livestock farms. Apart from dealing with the immediate concerns of consumers, the government must also move to ensure the long-term viability of the local hog industry.

While stakeholders seek to find a middle ground, the government must ensure that any price ceiling can be properly enforced. The Department of the Interior and Local Government has tasked local officials to take charge of the enforcement of the price ceiling. Hotlines should be provided for registering consumer complaints, which should be acted upon promptly.

At the same time, the problem highlights the need for greater effort to contain ASF. The disease has been ravaging the hog industry even before the COVID pandemic. Protocols are supposed to be in place to contain the further spread of ASF. While the swine disease does not jump to humans, it doesn’t make its containment any less urgent.