IATF backs unhampered flow of hog shipment from Visayas, Mindanao

The government’s COVID-19 task force supports the proposed continuous hog shipment from the Visayas and Mindanao amid rising pork prices in Metro Manila and supply issues in Luzon due to the African swine fever (ASF).

In a statement on Friday, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) supported the proposal of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to designate the nautical highway from Luzon and Mindanao, and the Maharlika Highway in Luzon as special hog lanes. 

“Science-based precautionary and quarantine measures” should be observed to prevent the spread of ASF, Roque added.

Earlier, the DA urged President Rodrigo Duterte to order a price cap on chicken and pork, which according to Roque on Thursday was “forthcoming.”

Imported pork will also start arriving in February from ASF-free countries, totaling 54,000 metric tons, the DA said. —LBG, GMA News