Soccsksargen hog raisers to DA: Stop pork imports

KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato — Hog raisers in Soccsksargen or Region 12 on Thursday called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) to stop pork importation, as they are already reeling from low farmgate prices and high feed costs, which so far forced at least 100 growers to sell their breeding sows and abandon the swine industry.

The hog raisers protested at the regional center in Barangay Carpenter Hill to demand immediate government action, including higher prices for live hogs to help them recover their production costs.

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Arnel Barroso, president of hog raisers from Tampakan town, said live weight prices in the region had fallen to as low as P90 per kilogram in some areas, while prices in their locality ranged from P105 to P110 per kilogram.

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He said raising a hog to nearly 100 kilograms could cost between P12,000 and P15,000, leaving raisers with significant losses at prevailing prices.

Barroso stressed that production costs remained high even as selling prices continued to fall, noting that a 100-kg swine would sell at only P10,500, lower than the minimum production cost of P12,000.

He blamed imported pork for worsening the situation, saying locally-raised hogs were being forced to compete with meat from abroad while feed prices remained expensive.

He urged Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. to take immediate action, saying hog raisers had been struggling for more than a year.

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“If you cannot find a way to address this now, we insist that you resign. Resign now.” he said.

Barroso said that some 130 hog raisers had sold their breeding sows and left the swine industry due to the challenges facing the local hog industry.

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The group also appealed to local government officials in the region to help establish a minimum farmgate price for live hogs.

Barroso asked South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo Jr., Sultan Kudarat Gov. Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu, Sarangani Gov. Rogelio Pacquiao and North Cotabato Gov. Emelou Taliño-Mendoza to support measures that would help stabilize prices, citing steps taken by other provinces.

Barroso said the regional agriculture office had offered to provide a one-ton feed mill to the Titan’s Hograisers Association in Tampakan as assistance, but the equipment has yet to be delivered nearly two months after it was discussed.

“What we are asking for is an immediate solution,” he said, warning that more hog raisers might leave the industry if the government fails to act immediately.

Amy Jane Fugador, another hog raiser from Polomolok, who spoke during the gathering, said the lingering low prices had pushed farmers into debt and depleted their savings.

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Fugador said she had reduced her own hog-raising operation from 10 breeding sows to just one because she could no longer afford to buy feeds, which costs P2,000 per bag.

She pushed for the fixing of fair farmgate prices and the imposition of penalties on traders or buyers who violate it.