The country’s hog production in the first quarter rose by 2.4 percent to 558,720 metric tons (MT) on the back of the increasing demand for pork and the improvement in the purchasing power of Filipinos.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that hog production in the January-to-March period expanded by 13,050 MT. Output in the same period last year reached 545,670 MT.
Historical data from the PSA showed that the figure is the largest first-quarter production recorded by the local hog sector.
Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines Inc. (ProPork) President Edwin G. Chen told the BusinessMirror that the sustained increase in demand for meat encouraged hog raisers to hike their production.
In its report, titled “Swine Industry Performance Report,” the PSA said Central Luzon
recorded the highest output at 109,400 MT, which was 4.62 percent higher than the 104,566 MT it produced last year. Central Luzon accounted for about 19.58 percent of total production during the period.
“This was followed by Calabarzon and Northern Mindanao with 91,080 MT and 48,330 MT, respectively,” it said. “The production in these regions accounted for approximately 45 percent of the country’s total hog production.”
Chen noted that expansion in the output of Northern Mindanao was driven by higher demand for pork not only in Luzon but also in the Visayas region.
“Mindanao hogs are usually being [shipped] to Luzon. Farmers also supply the VisMin area,” he said. “The output of Cebu and Davao also went up.”
Data from the PSA showed that the country’s total swine inventory as of April 1 expanded by 1.92 percent to 12.753 million heads, from the previous year’s 12.514 million heads.
“Stocks in backyard farms slightly increased by 0.34 percent, while inventory in commercial farms increased by 4.82 percent,” the PSA said.
“The top 3 regions in terms of inventory were Central Luzon with 16.91-percent share, Calabarzon with 12.29-percent share, and Western Visayas with 9.92-percent share to the country’s total swine inventory,” the PSA added.
Swine population held by backyard raisers, which accounted for 63.81 percent of the total inventory, reached 8.139 million heads, which was slightly higher than their inventory of 8.111 million heads a year ago.
The remaining volume of about 4.614 million heads was held by commercial raisers, which was 212,000 heads more than last year’s record of 4.402 million heads. Commercial swine inventory accounted for about 36.18 percent of the total inventory.
Data from the PSA also showed that the average farm-gate price of hogs in the first quarter rose by 14.03 percent to P113.56 per kilogram, from P99.59 per kg a year ago.