MANILA – The country has sufficient supplies of pork despite the impact of African swine fever (ASF) on the Philippines’ hog raising industry, the Agriculture Department said on Monday.
Agriculture Undersecretary Ariel Cayanan said the country has 12.8 million hogs, of which only around 237,000 infected pigs have been culled as of Mar. 2 this year.
The culled pigs represent less than two percent of the total population of hogs in the Philippines, Cayanan said.
A swine industry group meanwhile said the situation was more serious, and that a shortage of pork was possible in the coming months.
Swine Industry Foundation president Arnulfo Frontuna said local hog raisers have already suffered P80 billion in losses since ASF was detected in swine herds last year.
“We have a P260 billion industry, 30 percent of that is gone,” Frontuna stated.
He said at the rate the infection was spreading, the group expects 60 percent of the country’s swine population to be affected this year.
“Tingnan natin in five to six months magkakahirapan na sa availability ng pork,” he said.
Several lawmakers meanwhile said they were disappointed over the government’s failure to control the spread of ASF as the disease has now infected swine in over 600 barangays in 19 provinces. (ABS-CBN News)
