(File photo)
MANILA – Albay Rep. Joey Salceda on Tuesday said a sustainable and long-term solution to issues of pork price and supply is better feed supply and more modern support systems.
During the joint meeting of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food, and Committee on Trade and Industry, Salceda said while direct importation of meat may lower consumer prices in the short-term, the move may be unsustainable given the growing global demand for pork, and slower growth in global pork supply.
“The problem with livestock is feeds, feeds, feeds. We must explore options to expand our feed supply and diversify our sources of feed, including developing root crops. Only then can we acquire cost-competitiveness and comparative advantages in producing meat. In other words, to solve the issue of pork supply security even after the African swine fever crisis is over, it’s all about feeds,” he said.
He said feed importation could be considered as an alternative to direct meat importation.
“China, a leading pork producer, does not primarily produce its own feeds. In fact, it produces almost none of the soybeans it uses to feed its hog industry but imports it from Brazil and the United States. This is something we might explore, instead of directly importing meat,” he said.
He warned that the food price issues may be merely symptoms of structural problems in the country’s agriculture sector.
On the production side of the livestock sector, Salceda stressed the need to build the support system that will make the country competitive, beyond merely solving supply deficiencies through importation.
“This will include modernizing logistics, post-harvest facilities, support for input production such as feeds, and more efficient value-chains,” he said. “While the current food price crisis demands immediate action, we must not ignore the fact that this is merely a symptom of our structural vulnerabilities. As such, our actions must always have a view towards the structural and the long-term.”
Salceda noted that unless key changes are made soon, the problem will continue to worsen every year.
“The Philippine population is growing by 1-2 percent every year. With Covid-19, we expect a baby boom that will mean another generation of more mouths to feed. To add to this, with affluence comes more demand for food. That means, as we grow from a lower-middle-income to an upper-middle-income economy, our food demand will grow faster than our own population,” he said. (PNA)
