The Department of Agriculture (DA) released on Thursday, April 8 the implementing guidelines of the suggested retail prices (SRP) for pork.
This was after the DA, together with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), set the SRP of pork kasim (shoulder) at P270 per kg and pork liempo (belly) at P350 per kilo, effective Friday, April 9.
Agriculture Asec. Ariel Cayanan said wet markets should also comply with guidelines in handling imported pork products.
“While the price of pork is important, the primary mandate of the Department of Agriculture focuses on safety and proper handling,” Cayanan said in Filipino.
According to the DA, the National Meat Inspection Service will require importers to pack pork products into sealable packages of 1 kg and 500 grams. Foreign suppliers should also put proper labels on their products.
A “Compliance Monitoring Team” will monitor retailers and sellers.The DA and the DTI will jointly implement the said guidelines.
On April 7, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order 128, which temporarily lowered import duties on pork to augment the supply of hogs affected by the African swine fever.
The DA will also provide 2,500 chest freezers to Metro Manila wet markets.
As of April 7, 5,321 heads of swine were delivered to Metro Manila, which requires 4,000 hog heads per day. In total, 270,006 pigs have been delivered since Feb. 8. Ian Gabriel D. Trinidad