BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – An estimated P1.3 million worth of pork and pork products were intercepted during the Holy Week by the Negros Occidental Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO).
For lack of appropriate documents, 9.52 kilos of pork and 37,680 processed pork packs were shipped back to their origins, according to PVO head Dr. Placeda Lemana.
Meanwhile, 178.5 kilograms of pork worth P100,000 were destroyed through burning.
Most of the interceptions were made at the BREDCO port in Bacolod City, added Lemana.
In one case, they managed to confiscate a whole lechon shipped from Panay Island.
Negros Occidental has an ongoing ban on pork products from areas affected by the African Swine Fever (ASF).
The province remains ASF-free.
Negros Occidental is one of the top backyard hog producers in the country, with an industry pegged at more than P6 billion.
From January to March, 11,000 heads of hogs were exported, although the PVO said this year’s record is lower than the average monthly shipment last year./PN
