The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Rose de la Cruz
Because of the slow rollout of vaccines against African Swine Fever, which led to the massive culling of hogs and the shrinking market of feeds of the feedmillers, the industry stakeholders are warning of possible skyrocketing pork prices this coming Christmas season, when demand normally peaks.
The blame is being put on the slow clinical testing and release of certification by the Food and Drug Administration (the same agency that stalled in 2022 and 2023 the vaccines against COVID-19), the disease of most pigs in the country’s piggeries have been shooting up, hence the need to cull and bury the diseased animals.
Besides, there has only been one country supplying the ASF vaccines– Vietnam– which is now being subjected to intense testing by FDA to prevent other diseases from evolving from possible unsafe vaccines.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) started inoculating hogs in Lobo, Batangas, ground zero of the ASF outbreaks on Aug. 30.
Since then, only 41 hogs were inoculated against ASF and six piglets died because of pulmonary diseases.
AGAP party-list Rep. Nick Briones said during the Senate hearing last week that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has delayed the rollout of the inoculation process because the agency needed the vaccine to undergo clinical testing to obtain a Certificate of Product Registration.
FDA director general Samuel Zacate has said there are four vaccines for ASF undergoing local clinical trials.
Hog raisers’ groups yesterday warned of a spike in the retail prices of pork in the coming weeks with the expected increase in demand during the holiday season if the pace of the vaccination program against African swine fever (ASF) remains slow, the Philippine Star reported.
Feed millers in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon are losing substantial sales revenue as hogs continue to die because of ASF, according to Batangas Sorosoro Ibaba Development Cooperative chief executive officer Rico Geron.
“We are anticipating that pork meat prices will increase in the coming weeks toward the holiday season if the rolling out of the ASF vaccine inoculation process is not done faster,” Geron added.
Meanwhile, Cavite Farmers Feedmilling and Marketing Cooperative general manager Alice Maraan complained that her group does not know where to get the vaccine against ASF, the Star added.
“If our members who are into backyard hog-raising are affected by the ASF, feed millers also suffer. What we want is for the government to doubly speed up the vaccination process,” Maraan said.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has maintained that the DA is working to expedite the approval of vaccines for ASF, which he said could take six months “in the best-case scenario.”
Briones noted that based on records of the BAI as of Sept. 6, pigs from 14 regions, 31 provinces, 109 municipalities and 472 barangays have been hit by ASF.
Feed millers in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon are losing substantial sales revenue as hogs continue to die because of ASF, the Star quoted Batangas Sorosoro Ibaba Development Cooperative CEO Rico Geron.