THE Department of Agriculture’s Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) is calling on more hog farms to participate in a pilot program aimed at lowering pork prices for consumers and curbing profiteering within the supply chain.
During a market visit Monday in Marikina City, FTI President Joseph Lo said the initiative—launched on March 31—has enabled participating retailers to offer pork cuts at prices at least P20 below the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) of P380 per kilo for liempo and P350 per kilo for pigue and kasim.
As part of the pilot, the local subsidiary of Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Foods PLC (CP Foods) has been supplying 100 live hogs daily to a Caloocan slaughterhouse. Distributors source the pork directly from this central location, eliminating the need to transport hogs from multiple farms—an approach that significantly reduces logistics costs passed on to retailers and, ultimately, to consumers.
“The pilot test has been very successful,” jLo told reporters. “Over the first 21 days, we’ve handled more than 2,000 pigs, and participating sellers have been able to price liempo at P360 per kilo, and kasim and pigue between P330 and P340 per kilo. We are inviting more hog farms to join this program. FTI guarantees prompt and proper payment.”
JLo also said that by May, FTI aims to complete the Department of Agriculture’s cost-tracking system, designed to monitor the movement of hogs from farms to retailers. The goal is to ensure each player in the supply chain earns a fair return, while shielding consumers from unjustified markups.
Based on current data, the cost of raising a pig ranges between P165 and P80 per kilo. “We believe a farm gate price above P230 per kilo is already an indication of profiteering,” jLo explained. “A margin of P50 to P65 per kilo—roughly P5,000 to P6,500 per 100-kilo pig—we believe, is already a fair return.”
Despite multiple consultations with stakeholders—including hog raisers, traders, and retailers, Agriculture Assistant Secretary for Consumer Affairs Genevieve Velicaria-Guevarra noted that compliance with the MSRP remains low. In the ten markets jointly inspected by the DA and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), adherence averaged only around 20 percent.
Guevarra attributed the weak compliance with the MSRP to farm gate prices exceeding the agreed upon level of P230 per kilo and multiple layers of added costs before the pork reaches retailers.
“This week, we will begin issuing notices to stakeholders, requesting them to explain their inability to comply with the MSRP,” she said. “We’re coordinating closely with the DTI, which holds the enforcement authority on pricing matters,” added Guevarra, who also oversees the DA’s Agribusiness Marketing Assistance Service and the KADIWA ng Pangulo program.
