OFF TO LUZON. Hogs at the Bredco Port in Bacolod City await shipment to Luzon. Some 1,430 heads of hogs were shipped by swine raisers in Negros Occidental to Metro Manila and neighboring areas on Friday (Oct. 9, 2020) to boost supply in areas hit by African swine fever. (Photo courtesy of Office of the Provincial Veterinarian)
BACOLOD CITY – Swine raisers in Negros Occidental shipped 1,430 heads of hogs to Metro Manila and neighboring areas on Friday to boost supply in African swine fever or ASF-hit Luzon.
The shipment, which was facilitated by the Provincial Veterinary Quarantine Team via the MT Oceanic from the Bredco Port here, will be delivered to buyers in Manila, Bulacan, and Tarlac.
Dr. Renante Decena, the provincial veterinarian, said they sought buyers since Negros Occidental has a high supply of backyard pigs.
Of the 1,430 market hogs shipped, 942 were from backyard raisers mostly in the fifth and six districts in the south while 488 were raised in commercial farms.
“Our backyard raisers now enjoy the live weight price of PHP100 to PHP105 per kilo, especially in (the) fifth and sixth districts,” Decena said.
He noted that in some areas in Luzon, particularly Batangas, and Bulacan, the live-weight price of hogs rose to as much as PHP185 per kg. due to the devastating effects of the ASF.
Negros Occidental, the country’s top producer of backyard swine, remains ASF-free and continues to strictly monitor the possible entry of pork and its by-products from other parts of the country as the threat of the swine disease persists.
With a PHP6-billion swine industry, the province has enforced since September 18 last year the ban on the entry of pork and pork products from Luzon.
On Nov. 26, 2019, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer signed Provincial Ordinance 2019-024, otherwise known as “The ASF Prevention Ordinance of Negros Occidental”, to keep the province free from the virus.
Lacson also declared Negros Occidental as an ASF-free province under Provincial Board Resolution 1042.
Last February, Negros Occidental started to prohibit the entry of live pigs, pork, and pork-based products from Mindanao. (PNA)
