Hog raisers in Negros Oriental are hoping to get a favorable answer from local authorities that will boost their “declining” livelihood amid the Asian swine fever (ASF) scare that has affected the pork and processed meat industry in the country.
Cecil Hupa, a member of the association of hog raisers and pig feeds suppliers, over the weekend said a meeting is set on Thursday, Nov. 7, with Gov. Roel Degamo and Dr. Alfonso Tundag, Quarantine Officer of the Bureau of Animal Industry in the province, as well as Department of Agriculture officials.
Hupa said they are now worried about the effects of the ASF even though Negros Oriental is still free from it because the buying price of pork has gone down.
He said they are now on a losing end as meat shops and resellers now buy pork from them at PHP80 to PHP90 per kilo.
Feeds suppliers have joined the hog raisers in seeking help from the provincial government as they have also been affected by the ban on pork going in and out of the Visayas and Mindanao areas.
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Some hog raisers are scaling down their production, thus affecting the sale of pig feeds, according to Hupa.
As more outbreaks of the ASF virus are reported in other parts of Luzon, including Pangasinan and Manila in recent weeks, authorities are strengthening security measures to ensure that raw meat from pigs as well as processed foods and meat products containing pork are not allowed to travel to the Visayas and Mindanao.
Hupa said they just want clarifications regarding the government’s ban on pork and pork products, and what interventions can be done to help the local swine industry.
The ASF virus does not affect humans but people can be a source of its spread through vehicles, clothes, and the irresponsible disposal of food wastes that might be infected by the disease, Dr. Tundag had earlier said. (Judy F. Partlow/PNA)
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