SCARCE. Pork being sold at the Trade Town in San Jose de Buenavista, Antique on July 13, 2023. Municipal Economic Enterprise and Development Officer Darcy Bungay said in an interview Thursday (July 13, 2023) that there is now limited pork supply due to the African swine fever. (PNA photo by Annabel Consuelo J. Petinglay)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – This capital town of Antique is now experiencing scarcity in pork supply because of African swine fever (ASF).
San Jose de Buenavista Municipal Economic Enterprise and Development Officer (MEEDO) Darcy Bungay said he received information from meat vendors about their difficulty buying live hogs.
“There used to be an average of 30 to 35 heads of swine being slaughtered daily, but for now there are already only about 19-21 heads,” Bungay said in an interview on Thursday.
The limited supply of the meat product caused the increase in the selling price from PHP200 to PHP220 per kilogram when the when ASF case was first confirmed on June 29, 2023, to PHP240 to PHP250 per kilogram.Bungay said that farmers might have rushed in slaughtering their swine upon learning of the positive case in the municipality before they get infected by the animal disease.
“Pork has become scarce because of the many ASF hotspots already,” he added.
The MEED officer said that they are looking at the possibility of buying live hogs from municipalities that are still free from ASF to meet the demand of consumers if they could no longer find stocks in San Jose.
The Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) recorded a total of 46 hog mortalities from 17 barangays as of July 10, 2023. (PNA)
