PH pork industry facing collapse, hog raisers say as they call for import ban and tariff hikes

MANILA — Philippine hog producers issued an urgent plea Friday for immediate tariff increases and a temporary import ban, warning the domestic swine industry “faces extinction” as farmgate prices crash far below production costs.

In a joint manifesto, an alliance of local hog industry groups revealed that liveweight farmgate prices have plunged to P90–120 per kilogram. With feed costs continuing to climb, raisers are absorbing losses of up to P9,000 per pig, forcing many smallholders and commercial farms to consider shuttering operations.

The alliance demanded executive action to immediately restore import tariffs to 40 percent for out-quota and 30 percent for in-quota shipments. Producers rejected a government proposal to stagger tariff restoration through 2028, calling any further delay catastrophic.

“Every further delay in restoring the original tariffs gives imported pork an unfair price advantage and brings the local hog industry… closer to collapse,” the joint statement warned.

Beyond tariff restoration, the manifesto urged an immediate halt to new pork imports, a freeze on releasing frozen imported stocks from cold storage, mandatory 100 percent quarantine inspections at entry ports, and weekly updates to import reference values to eliminate undervaluation.

Senator Francis Pangilinan meanwhile said he has filed Senate Resolution 726 seeking a congressional inquiry into the livestock and poultry sectors. Pangilinan noted that liveweight prices of P120–160 per kilo in some regions sit well below estimated production costs of P180–190 and the target P210 benchmark.

Pangilinan estimated that depressed farmgate prices cost local hog raisers roughly P250 million daily, even as retail pork prices dropped only marginally to an average of P295.58 per kilo.

The senator noted that despite the drop in farmgate prices, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the national average retail price pork was down only 9.6 percent from P327.03 a year ago.

“Continuously depressed farmgate prices alongside high production costs may force raisers to exit the industry altogether, thereby deepening the country’s dependence on imports,” Pangilinan said, stressing the threat to national food security.

According to the Department of Agriculture, pork prices in Metro Manila average P371.94 per kilo for pork belly from domestic growers, while imported pork belly costs P305.82 per kilo. 

The DA’s Price Monitoring website also shows pork kasim costing P316.45 per kilo from local sources, while imported kasim costs P239.57 per kilo. 

High prices of pork were a factor in pushing up the inflation rate in previous years.