BACOLOD City — Hog raisers in Bacolod City are asking the local government to investigate alleged unfair and potentially abusive buying practices that they said have pushed live hog prices to levels threatening the livelihood of small producers.
In a letter addressed to Mayor Greg Gasataya and the City Council through Councilor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Agriculture and Agrarian Concerns, the group Bacolod Backyard Hog Raisers called for an immediate, independent and transparent investigation into liveweight hog pricing in the city.
Sayson said the group alleged that some traders were buying live hogs at prices substantially below prevailing market levels, leaving small producers with limited bargaining power.
The group urged authorities to examine farmgate prices offered by traders, how buying prices are determined, the difference between farmgate and selling prices, and whether coordinated pricing, price manipulation or other potentially unfair trading practices are involved.
The raisers also asked the city government to review weighing practices, transaction records and compliance with existing laws and price-monitoring mechanisms.
“We understand that traders are entitled to operate a profitable business and that market prices may legitimately fluctuate depending on supply, demand, transportation, mortality risk, quality and other market factors,” the group said in its letter.
However, it stressed that farmers should also be protected from practices that may exploit their lack of bargaining power.
The hog raisers alleged that live hogs in Bacolod have been bought for as low as P120 per kilogram, which they claimed has contributed to depressed prices across Negros Occidental.
They also raised concerns regarding trading arrangements at the Bacolod slaughterhouse, alleging that these may have contributed to the situation. The claims, however, have yet to be independently verified.
Sayson confirmed that hog raisers had brought the matter before his committee. He said the decline in hog prices has been attributed to several factors, including the continuing effects of African swine fever (ASF), pork importation, and supply-and-demand conditions.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Local Price Coordinating Council (PLPCC) of Negros Occidental has recommended minimum buying and retail price levels for selected swine commodities amid market disruptions linked to ASF.
The recommended levels are P165 per kilogram for live finisher hogs, P200 for starter hogs, P100 for culled sows, P2,700 per piglet, P200 per kilogram for hog carcasses, and P270 per kilogram for pork.
The suggested provincial price levels, however, do not cover Bacolod City because it is a highly urbanized city with its own local government jurisdiction.
The hog raisers said the situation warrants closer scrutiny of prices in Bacolod, particularly amid concerns that market conditions in the city could influence prices received by producers elsewhere in Negros Occidental.
They urged the city government to gather actual transaction data from farmers and traders to determine whether the price gap can be justified by legitimate market factors or whether corrective action is needed.
For the raisers, the issue goes beyond pork prices.
They said fair pricing is essential to keeping small backyard and independent hog producers in business, particularly as the industry continues to recover from the effects of ASF and other market pressures./PN
