Nearly two years after the government confirmed that pigs in Rizal province were killed by African swine fever, the dreaded hog disease has now spread to other parts of the country, including Mindanao. The disease is now being tagged as the single biggest cause of the significant drop in pork supply and the consequent spike in the price of pork (See, “3.6% pork output dip seen on ASF disruption,” in the BusinessMirror, January 14, 2021). Apart from the fact that ASF is fatal to pigs, raisers cannot immediately repopulate their farms after ASF decimates their herd, as they must see to it that the virus has been eliminated prior to repopulation.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reflected the difficulties faced by hog raisers since September 2019, when the Philippines was first struck by ASF. The national statistics agency reported that hog inventory as of January 1 this year plunged to a 25-year low (See, “Hog inventory down by 24.1% as of January 1, a 25-year low,” in the BusinessMirror, February 10, 2021). The inventory of hogs in backyard farms, which accounted for 71 percent of supply and where ASF was first detected, fell by more than 13 percent.
Until ASF is brought under control and eliminated altogether, the government would have to find other means to supply the pork requirements of the country’s urban areas. Aside from searching for other sources of pork, the government must also encourage raisers to expand the production of poultry and step up its campaign to keep avian influenza at bay. Given the current pork situation, the recurrence of bird flu would deal a serious blow to government efforts to temper the rising prices of meat products.
Currently, a number of Western countries are experiencing bird flu outbreaks, including areas where the Philippines sources its poultry needs. Asian chicken farmers are also confronting the worst bird flu outbreak in years, according to a Reuters report. South Korea and Japan have destroyed more than 20 million chickens since November, while the highly pathogenic H5N8 virus reached India, the world’s sixth largest producer of poultry. What’s worrisome for experts is the new strains of the avian influenza virus that have evolved to become more lethal in wild birds.
Migratory birds have been associated with bird flu outbreaks in many countries, including the Philippines. We urge poultry raisers to immediately report any suspicious fatalities in their farms to prevent the possible spread of bird flu. We also call on the government to strengthen border security to prevent the entry of poultry products from countries that were banned from shipping chicken to the Philippines.
Extra care must be taken after the Bureau of Animal Industry announced in January that it has lifted the temporary ban on the local transport of live domestic poultry and poultry products after the Philippines regained its bird flu-free status (See, “BAI lifts temporary domestic ban on transport of poultry,” in the BusinessMirror, January 21, 2021). The movement restriction of live birds, poultry products from Luzon to Visayas and Mindanao without a negative avian influenza test was put in place as a control measure. Stakeholders must observe biosecurity protocols and work with the government to prevent the scourge that is bird flu from again posing a threat to our food security.
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