SANTIAGO CITY, Isabela–As temperatures rise here, so are prices of pork and beef being sold in the city’s wet market.
“Our real problem now is the scarcity of meat supply, whatever reason it may be. Our limited stocks compel us to raise the price of pork that ranges from [adding] P20 per kilo regardless of cuts,” said Annie Cumarat, a local pork retailer in the city.
Another vendor, Elvira Dulay, said beef retailers like her are constrained to raise prices of meat products as a result of the mass exodus of livestock from the province of Isabela by unscrupulous traders, who take most of the livestock to Pangasinan apparently because of better price ranges.
“We have no choice but to go with the prevailing price of beef in the market to keep us with the trend,” Dulay said.
City veterinarian Solomon Maylem explained raisers and traders are struggling against the effects of a rise in temperatures.
On Wednesday the government’s weather bureau pegged the temperature in this region at 36 degrees Celsius, which is up two degrees from Tuesday’s 34.
“The extreme heat being experienced in the Cagayan Valley region makes it difficult for poultry and livestock raisers to control heat stroke that causes massive attack on their farm animals,” Maylem said.
Currently, the live weight per kilo of hogs is P150 each, according to Maylem.
But some hog raisers doesn’t blame the weather and instead point to the high cost of feeds.
The price increase prompted customers to shift to buying fish products, instead of meat.
According to fish retailer Anita Austria, the price per kilo of blue marlin and pink salmon used to be P350, but currently sells at P250.
In general, seafood and other aquatic products now dominate the trading post in the city.
Image credits: Leonardo Perante II