DA: Pork prices may go up by P5/kilo next week

Consumers may have to brace for a rise in the prices of pork because of the higher prices of feeds and other inputs, agriculture officials said. Agriculture Assistant Secretary Salvador Salacup said on Thursday the price hike for pork, which now costs about P150 to 160 per kilo, may go up by P5 per kilo by next week. “Sabi sa amin baka P5/kilo ... At ang kadahilanan ang pagtaas ng ingredients na ini-import natin, soybean meal, bone meal, talagang nagsipa ito. Siyempre may antibiotics dinadagdag," Salacup said in an interview on dzBB radio. (We had been advised that prices of pork may go up by P5 per kilo. The reason for this is prices of inputs like soybean meal and bone meal had gone up. So have prices of antibiotics.) He explained that the higher prices of these ingredients contributed to the increase in prices of feeds for hogs. The DA has encouraged hog growers to use lower-priced substitutes for their hogs, he said. “Sana mabigyan ng substitutes na gamitin ng ating mambababoy. Cassava is available. May mais din tayo (Our hog growers can use substitutes, like cassava and corn)," he said. Salacup also said the rise in prices of inputs may result in a price hike for chicken as well, but he said the price is not likely to exceed P130/kilo. He said producers are aware that if they raise prices too high, consumers will shift their tastes and turn to other food items. “Pag masyadong mataas ang presyo sa palengke apektado ang consumption pattern ... Ang Pilipino nagshi-shift, pag isang commodity may kataasan lilipat sa ibang commodity (If prices are increased too much, consumers will shift to other items)," he said. Salacup said the prices of other food items including fish and vegetables remain “very stable." An earlier report on dzBB quoted hog meat vendors at a market in Manila as saying their suppliers had advised them of a price hike but did not say how much the increase would be. – VVP, GMA News