DA: Price cap on pork stays

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said the price ceiling on pork and chicken remains.

Executive Order (EO) 124 implemented a price ceiling on pork and chicken products in Metro Manila to arrest the rising food prices.

Signed by President Rodrigo Duterte signed on February 1, the directive has imposed a price cap of P270 per kilo for kasim (shoulder) and pigue (back leg or shoulder), P300 per kilo for liempo (belly), and P160 per kilo for dressed chicken.

EO 124 was supposed to take effect in January but the government deferred its implementation to February 8 to give hog industry players a lead time to adjust to the ceiling prices.

“We will maintain it in the remaining days until April 8, as prescribed under EO 124,” said Agriculture Secretary William Dar said in a statement on Monday.

“Lifting it will undeniably result in dramatic rise in prices of pork and chicken, given that the African swine fever (ASF) crisis is still raging and thus continues to impact on local production of hogs nationwide,” he added.

Instead, the Agriculture chief cited the need to augment the shortfall estimated at 400,000 metric tons this year, from ASF-free countries.

Dar also said that as the inflation rate again rose in February at 4.7 percent (versus 4.2 percent in January), it is incumbent upon the Duterte government to take all necessary measures to check inflationary pressure to protect low-income households, particularly the poor, who are hurt most.

On the suggestion to raise the price ceiling, Dar said it would be a redundant measure given that actual average pork and chicken prices are higher than the ceiling imposed by the President’s directive.

He said, “it is not far-fetched that if the price ceiling is raised to a new level, industry players will hike their prices once again, emboldened by the knowledge that they are capable of pressuring the government to change its mind.”

Although the price cap may not ensure full compliance by the traders and retailers, Dar said it is still an effective deterrent against “unscrupulous” trading activities.

“By maintaining it, the government will send a strong signal to Filipino consumers — who suffer from lower incomes due to the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our economy — that it does care about their welfare,” he said.

“Hog producers, wholesalers, and retailers are no less expected to do their share in helping the country’s economic recovery effThe total hog and carcass deliveries from various regions to Metro Manila have reached 127,868 heads, and 823,673 kilos of carcasses, for an average of 4,567 heads and 28,417 kilos daily, from February 8 to March 7, based on the report by the DA’s field operations service. The figures surpass Metro Manila’s average daily requirement of 4,000 heads, it added.