Agri dept. eyes higher SRP for pork

The Department of Agriculture (DAP) is reviewing the suggested retail price (SRP) of pork for a possible hike due to increased production cost, its spokesperson said Thursday.

Interviewed on Dobol B sa News TV, DA Assistant Secretary Noel Reyes said the P190 per kilo SRP was based on the old production cost and farm gate price.

Presyo ng karne ng baboy, tumaas ng P50 kada kilo sa Marikina Public Market I @dzbb pic.twitter.com/C0baJe6Wal

— Mark Makalalad (@MMakalalad) June 10, 2020

“Kinokonsulta namin ‘yung hog raisers. Ang sabi nila tumaas na ‘yung production cost dahil limitado ang supply ng baboy lalo na sa Central Luzon at CALABARZON dahil nga karamihan tinamaan ng African swine fever,” he said.

“Nire-review ng DA na itaas talaga kasi sabi nila ‘yung dating presyo na P120 sa farm gate nasa P150 na ngayon,” he added.

“Pinag-aaralan na po ‘yan ng livestock group namin.”

The recommendation of the group -- composed of representatives from the Bureau of Animal Industry, National Meat Inspection Service, and Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) -- will be sent to the DA next week.

According to Reyes, some hog raisers depopulated their farms due to the risk of African swine fever. Though hog raisers in areas unaffected by the disease increased the number of their livestock, the delivery was hampered by the checkpoints due to the quarantine measures being implemeted amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

As an intervention to the limited supply, Reyes said the DA will use its quick response fund to support farmers in safe areas with the repopulation. --KBK, GMA News