Weekly deliveries to start to Metro Manila to bring down pork prices
(Eagle News) – The Department of Agriculture said that there will be weekly delivery of live hogs from Mindanao, Visayas and other parts of Luzon to supply Metro Manila markets.
This came about as the department also mobilized its transport facilities to help in transporting hogs from all over the country to the Philippine capital at a minimal fee.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the delivery started Monday morning, Feb. 8. At least 27 metric tons of live hogs arrived in Metro Manila from Mindanao. These will be sold in the Philippine capital within the price range recommended by the DA, not exceeding the price cap imposed by the Philippine government.
President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier imposed a 60-day price ceiling of P300 per kilo for liempo, and P270 per kilo for kasim and pigue, and P160 per kilo for dressed chicken. This was contained in Executive Order 124 signed on Feb. 1, 2021.
-DA transport fee, only minimal, says Dar-
Dar said that the DA had bought the hogs at a farmgate price of P144 per kilo. For transport fee, it would be imposing P21 for hogs sourced from Mindanao; P15 per kilo for hogs coming from Visayas, including Bicol, MIMAROPA and extreme Northern Luzon; and P10 from the rest of CALABARZON, Central Luzon.
This minimal transport assistance fee is imposed by the DA to help hog raisers to deliver their produce to Metro Manila.
“Para mabigyan sila ng DA ng transport assistance,” Dar said.
The agriculture chief said that the DA is also prepared to even pay for gasoline that would be used in hog deliveries if the producers have trucks to transport their live hogs.
This is being done to solve the problem of high cost of pork being sold in Metro Manila.
The Philippine government is still investigating the reason for the spike in pork prices, and is suspecting that some hog traders or middle men are manipulating prices.
Pork is being sold at P400 per kilo in Metro Manila.
The DA had earlier said that unscrupulous traders had been jacking up pork prices by as much as P200 per kilo.
(Eagle News Service)
