Pork prices remain steep as the African Swine Fever (ASF) continue to affect hog growers nationwide, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said Wednesday (Oct. 27).

Chua expressed concern about the high inflation rate at a forum, saying people shouldn’t be “hit twice” with higher inflation amid the reduction of income due to the COVID-19 crisis.

A big issue this year is pork, with prices surging past P400 a kilogram in some wet markets due to limited supply as some local hog raisers are forced to cull their pigs due to the African swine fever.

However, Chua said importations have helped ease price pressures in Metro Manila, although still above the P300 level after months of cheap tariffs on imported pork.

“The moment we implemented the executive order increasing the minimum access volume and reducing the tariffs temporarily, you can see the significant decline. However, we are not yet seeing the optimal level of importation and our African Swine Fever is not yet fully addressed –– that is why we are not seeing a full recovery yet of the pork inflation,” the NEDA chief added.

“We are seeing significant progress already, and we hope to see more in the coming months,” Chua said.

The post More imports needed: NEDA’s Karl Chua blames high pork prices on ASF first appeared on Bilyonaryo Business News.



More imports needed: NEDA’s Karl Chua blames high pork prices on ASF
Source: Filipino Daily Inquirer