Antique sets PHP 170 floor price for live hogs

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

ILOILO CITY – The provincial government of Antique has imposed a temporary farmgate floor price of PHP 170 per kilogram for live hogs to protect smallholder and backyard hog raisers from depressed buying prices.

The executive order, signed by Gov. Paolo Javier on Sept. 8, prohibits traders, dealers, buyers, consolidators, meat processors, commercial handlers, and middlemen from buying, contracting, or offering to buy market-ready hogs from local producers below PHP 170 per kilogram liveweight.

The floor price serves as a minimum farmgate protection for producers rather than a mandatory price at which hogs must be sold to consumers.

Raisers and buyers may still agree on higher prices, particularly for premium-grade animals or hogs meeting specific quality requirements.

The order was issued after more than 400 members of the Antique Livestock and Poultry Raisers’ Association raised concerns over low farmgate prices during a stakeholders’ dialogue on Aug. 27.

“As an interim and emergency economic stabilization intervention, the provincial government deems it necessary to institute a provisional, temporary floor price,” the order read.

Data submitted by ALPRA showed that raising an 85-kilogram fattener costs about PHP 14,480.

That estimate covers the animal, feeds, vitamins and supplements, electricity, and hauling and transport, but excludes labor, veterinary medicines, mortality risks, biosecurity, and facility depreciation.

At PHP 170 per kilogram, an 85-kilogram hog would generate only PHP 14,450, ALPRA said, leaving a baseline shortfall of PHP 30 before any of the excluded costs are counted.

ALPRA subsequently adopted a resolution petitioning the governor to intervene and establish the provincial floor price.

Hog production in Antique, a province on the western coast of Panay Island in Western Visayas, is dominated by backyard and smallholder operations, which typically raise a few animals at a time and have little leverage in setting prices with consolidators and traders.

Raisers nationwide have also absorbed years of elevated feed costs and the continuing effects of African swine fever, which has disrupted Philippine hog supply and prices since the disease was first detected in the country in 2019.

Javier emphasized that the order is meant to ensure fairness and protection for hog raisers, noting that a clear minimum price helps them receive a reasonable return on their production.

“For too long, our hog raisers have carried the increasing costs of feeds, medicines, labor, and other inputs. They work hard to raise their animals, yet they can still be forced to accept buying prices that do not fairly reflect their investment and hard work,” he said.

Javier called on all buyers, traders, and stakeholders in the livestock industry to respect and comply with the executive order.

“Our farmers and hog raisers deserve fair prices and equal opportunities,” he added.

The order prohibits price manipulation and collusion, including agreements among buyers to artificially depress farmgate prices, establish buying caps, or refuse to purchase from raisers who demand the prescribed floor price.

Coercing raisers into selling below the floor price through debt leverage, distress, or other forms of pressure is likewise prohibited.

The order also bars the use of uncalibrated, altered, tampered, defective, or unsealed weighing scales, as well as arbitrary deductions or kaltas/tara without valid technical justification.

To enforce the policy, compliance with the floor price will be incorporated into existing provincial regulatory processes.

The Office of the Provincial Veterinarian will consider compliance when issuing provincial livestock trader accreditations, veterinary health certificates, and livestock shipping clearances, while local transport permits for livestock movement will also be subject to the applicable requirements.

Traders, buyers, and consolidators found violating the policy may face recommendations for the suspension or revocation of their registrations, permits, and clearances.

The order also provides for the withholding of veterinary health certificates and shipping permits, and possible blacklisting from provincial and municipal livestock markets and trading posts.

The Provincial Agriculture Office was directed to coordinate with ALPRA and other industry stakeholders in monitoring feed prices, market conditions, and livestock movement trends.