DA rules out pork price hike in December

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said an increase in the price of pork is less likely to happen during the Christmas holiday, considering its adequate supply, according to a report by Philippine News Agency.

At a Laging Handa briefing, DA Deputy spokesperson Rex Estoperez said they are not expecting significant price adjustments.

“Sa ngayon, wala pa tayong nakikitang pagtaas ng karne ng baboy, kasi marami nga, kahit frozen. Kaso nga hindi ‘yan ‘yung preference ng ating mga kababayan. Iyong bagong katay ang preference nila (For now, we are not yet seeing a pork price hike because the supply is more than enough, even frozen meat. However, Filipinos prefer fresh meat),” he said.

Estoperez said even if pork prices go up, it would be minimal.

“Ayaw naming mag-speculate pagdating ng kapaskuhan. Medyo konting pagtaas pero hindi naman sana ‘yung pagtaas na masyadong malaki (We don’t want to speculare, but when Christmas comes, a slight increase, but we hope for an increase that is not too much),” he added.

Ample supply

The DA noted that the volume of pork in the market, both fresh and frozen, remains high.

“Iyong karne po natin, ‘yung baboy po, ang supply po nito ay sobrang dami po niyan… Mababa ang farmgate price, pero pagdating sa pamilihan, mayroon po tayong binabayaran na transport cost. Iyong ating mga namumuhunan dito, may mga incidental expenses. So idagdag lang nila. Pero kung sa supply, sobra-sobra ang supply ng baboy ayon din ‘yun sa mga kasama natin sa industriya (Our pork supply is very high. Its farmgate price is low. But when it reaches the market, there is transport cost. Investors also incur incidental expenses. So this contributes to the price. But when it comes to supply, our pork supply is more than enough, according to our industry players),” he said.

Meanwhile, the prices of frozen pork remained lower than those of newly slaughtered ones.

In Metro Manila, Monday’s prevailing prices for frozen meat range from PHP265/kilogram (kg) to PHP300/kg of pork liempo, lower than the fresh pork liempo prices ranging from PHP290/kg to PHP390.

The prevailing prices of frozen pork kasim or pigue range from PHP210/kg to PHP260/kg, more affordable than fresh pork priced at PHP260/kg to PHP360/kg.

The lowest prices of pork meat in the National Capital Region are at Marikina market, Commonwealth Market and Mega Q-mart in Quezon City.