BACOLOD City – Swine raisers in Negros Occidental shipped 1,430 heads of hogs to Metro Manila and neighboring areas to boost supply in African swine fever (ASF)-hit Luzon.
The shipment was facilitated by the Provincial Veterinary Quarantine Team via the MT Oceanic from the Bredco Port here. Recipient-areas were Manila, Bulacan and Tarlac.
Dr. Renante Decena, provincial veterinarian, said Negros Occidental has a high supply of backyard pigs.
Of the 1,430 market hogs shipped, 942 were from backyard raisers mostly in the fifth and six districts while 488 were raised in commercial farms.
“Our backyard raisers now enjoy a live-weight price of P100 to P105 per kilo, especially in (the) fifth and sixth districts,” Decena said.
In some areas in Luzon, particularly Batangas and Bulacan, the live-weight price of hogs rose to as much as P185 per kilogram due to the devastating effects of the ASF.
Negros Occidental, the country’s top producer of backyard swine, remains ASF-free and continues to strictly monitor the possible entry of pork and its by-products from other parts of the country as the threat of the swine disease persists.
With a P6-billion swine industry, the province has enforced since Sept. 18 last year a ban on the entry of pork and pork products from Luzon.
On Nov. 26, 2019, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson signed Provincial Ordinance 2019-024, otherwise known as “The ASF Prevention Ordinance of Negros Occidental”, to keep the province free from the virus.
Lacson also declared Negros Occidental an ASF-free province under Provincial Board Resolution 1042.
In February, Negros Occidental started to prohibit the entry of live pigs, pork, and pork-based products from Mindanao. (With a report from PNA/PN)
