Q1 hog production inched higher
Hog production posted a slight increase in the first quarter despite the continued threat of the African swine fever (ASF), the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Monday.
In its quarterly swine situation report, the PSA said hog production reached 571,260 metric tons (MT) in the January-to-March period, slightly up 0.7 percent from 567,420 MT recorded in the same period last year.
The report show increases in swine production in nine regions, with Cordillera Administrative Region having the highest increase at 6.9 percent. The total output of the region reached 6,740 MT as against only 6,310 MT in 2019.
Among the regions, Region 3 (Central Luzon) produced the highest number of hogs with 114,110 MT. This was followed by Regions 4A (CALABARZON) and 10 (Northern Mindanao) with 90,330 and 52,230 MT, respectively. The three regions accounted for 44.9 percent of the country’s total hog production.
In terms of the number of heads, hog production totaled 12.71 million heads during the quarter reflecting a 0.2-percent decrease from 12.73 million heads in the same period last year.
The population of swine in backyard farms likewise posted a decrease of 1.8 percent, while stocks in commercial farms registered a 2.6 percent increase.
Of the total swine inventory, 62.3 percent were raised in backyard farms while the remaining 37.7 percent were from commercial farms.
During the period, the farm gate price of hogs for slaughter rose to P111.54 per kilo, nearly one percent higher than last year’s price of P110.50 per kilo.
The highest average farm gate price of hogs upgraded for slaughter was recorded in March at P117.17 per kilo. The lowest was in January at P107.99 per kilo.