A group of pig farmers called on the government to provide the promised transportation subsidy for the transportation of pigs from Visayas and Mindanao to Metro Manila.
According to National Federation of Hog Farmers president Chester Warren Yeo Tan, the Department of Agriculture has offered a transportation subsidy of P21 for Mindanao pig farmers, P18 in the Visayas, and P10 in Luzon.
“Sana po ‘yong subsidy ay talagang maibigay ‘yan sa ating mga hog raiser para hindi po mapahirapan,” he said in a Teleradyo interview on Wednesday. “Sana matuloy po ito. Magiging totoo po.”
Tan said hog raisers spend about P35 per kilo for shipment. They are said to be having a hard time earning money because of the price ceiling recently imposed by the government.
“Ang nagiging hadlang po is ‘yong price cap dito sa Luzon na P270 to P300,” he said. “Nahihirapan magpadala dahil din sa transportation cost na malaki.”
Last week, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the implementation of a price ceiling on pork and poultry in Manila.
Under Executive Order No. 124, with a price cap of P270 per kilo of kasim and pigi, P300 per kilo of liempo, and P160 per kilo of chicken.
Group of hog raisers calls for transport subsidy
The order went into effect on Monday and will last for 2 months.
Although the DA also offers loans for pig farmers affected by African swine fever, almost no one wants to borrow from the National Federation of Hog Farmers, Tan said.
“Sa survey namin, halos wala kaming nakuhang stakeholder na gustong umutang dahil medyo high-risk po ito,” he said.
“Ang takot po nila ‘pag hindi naging successful kahit zero interest ‘yan, baka hindi makapagbayad ng principal dahil sa ASF issue.”
Agriculture Secretary William Dar said Tuesday that his agency has set aside P500 million for the lending of backyard hog raisers. Their offer for swine commercial hog raisers is P27 billion.
The government plans to increase the minimum allowed volume of pork imports to ensure that the supply of pork in the country is enough due to the effects of the African swine fever (ASF), the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Tuesday.
The DA said a pork supply deficit of almost 400,000 metric tons (MT) is expected this year.