Business NEWS

Filipinos can expect higher meat prices as the cost of animal feed ingredients, primarily corn and soybean, has been on an uptrend worldwide.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is looking into urban aquaculture as alternative livelihood for backyard hog raisers who are badly affected by the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF).

With pork and chicken prices in Metro Manila markets still relatively high, consumers are assured of enough supply of fish, which could fulfill the metropolis’ demand for an affordable source of protein.

The government-funded transport subsidy for hog shipment is now available, but hog raisers must first follow a lengthy process.

Amid the persistent African Swine Fever (ASF) and shortage in hogs supply in the country, San Miguel Corporation (SMC), through its food unit San Miguel Foods (SMF), announced it is rationalizing its Monterey business by transferring its nationwide hog inventory to local raisers.

In a bid to boost the country’s fisheries output, the Philippine government is amenable to the private sector’s proposal to set up aquaculture sites within protected areas and dams across the country.

Despite the tightness in supply, the Philippine government is targeting to bring down the farm-gate price of pork in the country to P165 to P170 per kilogram (/kg), which is nearly double the commodity’s current retail cost of around P350/kg recently recorded at select markets in Metro Manila.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) will not withdraw its proposal for tariff reduction on pork and rice imports despite the growing number of groups – including farmers, raisers, advocates – opposing such a move.

Aside from the local livestock industry, the Philippine government also stands to lose if the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) proposal to reduce the tariff on pork imports will be given the green light.

Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) has opened a new credit facility that will fund 90 percent of borrowers’ investment requirement, but this is only if the borrower is either a farmer or a micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) engaged in the agricultural value chain of certain commodities. 

The construction of the first first-border inspection facility in the Philippines, which should prevent the entry of animal diseases in the country, is yet to start more than a year since the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced such a plan.

Wireless services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), together with the  Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), has provided a free and extensive online learning course on farming basics.This, according to Smart, should help more Filipino farmers adapt to the digital shift during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) allocated P161 million of agriculture interventions to rice farmers in Caraga region for CY 2021.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the drop in the agriculture sector’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 was “negligible” and even took this as a sign of recovery for the sector.

Hit by calamities in 2020

An aquaculture firm is now awaiting the approval of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) for its unsolicited proposal to breed and harvest fish and other seafood products in Pantabangan Dam, one of the largest dams in Asia.

The Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (PAMPI) is asking President Rodrigo Duterte to authorize limited importation of up to 50,000 metric tons (MT) only at zero tariff at zero.

Even if the implementation of a price freeze on farm commodities from November to December failed to stop the cost of pork and chicken from rising, the government is still keen on resorting to the same strategy, which is hoped to be finalized within the week.