Twenty-five backyard hog raisers’ associations in Negros Occidental have joined a three-day “Pork Holiday” called by the Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines (AGAP) to protest mounting industry losses driven by government import policies and soaring production costs.
Ric Lauron, president of the Alliance of Hog Raisers Association of Negros Occidental (AHRANO), said Friday, Oct. 23, that local hog raisers have been affected by falling farmgate prices and high input costs.
During the nationwide protest, which runs from Thursday to Saturday, participating hog raisers will halt pork sales and market deliveries, Lauron explained.
He said that the 25 AHRANO member associations joined the strike to urge the national government, particularly the Department of Agriculture (DA), to address their plight and provide urgent support.
An estimated 200 to 300 pigs will be withheld from markets across Negros Occidental during the three-day period.
AGAP, in a statement, said local hog raisers are losing millions of pesos daily due to high production expenses and stiff competition from low-priced imported pork.
The group is demanding the restoration of pork import tariffs to 30 percent for shipments within the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) quota and 40 percent for out-of-quota imports.
The hog raisers are also pressing for the strict enforcement of the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act to curb agricultural smuggling and hold perpetrators of illegal meat shipments accountable.
AHRANO previously reported that despite the floor price established by the Negros Occidental provincial government to safeguard local hog producers, traders continue to dictate lower prices.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri on Thursday called on Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. to crack down on price manipulators, smugglers, and excessive meat imports.
Zubiri urged the DA chief to exercise firm leadership as thousands of backyard hog raisers struggle with plummeting farmgate prices, even as retail consumers continue to pay high market prices for pork.*
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