PORK GLUT: Iloilo board member seeks two-month ban on outside hogs

ILOILO CITY—The chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan’s agriculture committee on Tuesday urged the national government to intervene in the hog industry. He cited hog raisers’ concerns over low farmgate prices even as pork prices have skyrocketed in local markets.

Second District Board Member Rolito Cajilig reiterated a resolution recently approved by the provincial board urging the Department of Agriculture (DA) to impose a two-month temporary ban on hogs entering Iloilo from other provinces.

The resolution asks the DA and Congress to intervene, with the ultimate goal of limiting the entry of hogs from other provinces.

Cajilig said backyard raisers have lodged a petition with Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., which they also coursed through his office. The petition cites farmgate prices for live hogs as low as PHP 130 per kilogram, while pork prices in local markets have climbed to PHP 340 per kilogram.

He said backyard hog raisers in Leon submitted the petition to air their grievances after he delivered a privilege speech on the issue at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

Cajilig described the situation as “tantamount to calamity,” citing the difficulties small-scale producers face as they continue to shoulder expenses for feed, utilities, and other operating costs.

“[All prices] have been rising, and there is no [commodity] that hasn’t been more [expensive], but hog prices have fluctuated up and down. It seems abnormal, [because] hog prices should have gone down around June when demand is low. But it’s almost December but farmgate prices have remained at PHP 130 [per kg] and meat market is still high [in prices],” Cajilig said.

“It’s not [resulting to] a balanced economy because backyard raisers are being killed,” he added.

Data from the Iloilo Provincial Veterinarian’s Office (IPVO) showed that the province had 136,770 hogs as of October. Of these, 111,890 were raised by backyard producers and 24,880 came from commercial farms.

Iloilo’s swine supply sufficiency level, which Cajilig also cited in the interview, stood at 87.21 percent.

IPVO shipment records, however, showed that 19,775 live hogs entered Iloilo from July 21 to Sept. 30 from Guimaras, Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and Palawan.

Another 2,625 hogs were recorded entering the province in October.

“We’re not supposed to import here. We have to just export. […] Hogs are coming in from Negros, […] Guimaras […], Antique, and […] Palawan. With an 87 percent sufficiency rate, if they come in, [based on] the law of supply and demand, if there is a greater supply, the [hog raisers] won’t be able to take it,” Cajilig said.

At the national level, the DA is pursuing measures to protect hog producers from import competition.

The department has begun a preliminary safeguard investigation into rising pork imports, which could lead to additional tariffs or limits on import volumes.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has also said the department is preparing to suspend the issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for selected pork cuts for up to 60 days. The suspension could begin in mid-November, subject to legal requirements.

Cajilig said the government must address the concerns of backyard producers, whose livelihoods depend on selling their hogs at prices that allow them to recover their investments.