Mindanao farmers are sending hogs to Metro Manila to help pork vendors in the capital region deal with short supply and rising prices, Malacanang said Wednesday.
Some 2,000 pigs from South Cotabato were transported to Tondo in Manila for distribution to the different markets of the capital region, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.
"Patuloy naman po ang pag-aangkat natin ng baboy sa mga lugar na walang ASF (African Swine Fever) dito sa Luzon pati sa Visayas at Mindanao," Roque said.
The move is meant to lower the price of meat which has gone up in January to as high as P400 per kilo, hurting household budgets.
Earlier this month, President Rodrigo Duterte issued an executive order imposing the following price caps on pork and chicken as household budgets struggled with the rising prices of meat products:
- P270/kg for kasim and pigue
- P300/kg for liempo
- P160/kg for a dressed chicken
MORE ON MEAT PRICE CAP:
Pork, Chicken Prices in Metro Manila are Capped for 60 Days
Quezon City Waives Market Rental Fees of Meat Vendors Hit by Price Caps
Pork is Expensive, Traders Should Avoid Profiteering: Agri Chief
So far, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said more than 38,000 live hogs and 150,167 kilograms of pork meat have been shipped to Metro Manila from different areas of the Philippines, with the Southern Tagalog Region (Calabarzon) accounting for half of the augmented supply.