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THE South Cotabato Swine Producers Association (Socospa) is
projecting a doubling of frozen pork meat supply in Metro Manila
this year, after sales last year jumped.
Dr. Emilio Escobillo Jr., Socospa president,
reported to Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap on Friday that the
frozen pork meat supply, also called pork in a box, from Mindanao
for Metro Manila went up from 1.7 million kilos in 2005 to 4.435
million in 2007.
Escobillo also said that live shipping of hogs
went down from 283,000 heads in 2005 to 167,278 heads last year, or
almost 70 percent.
Yap said that the supply from Mindanao is
covering 6 percent to 7 percent of demand in pork meat in Metro
Manila a year. Metro Manila’s annual consumption of pork is 260
million kilos.
For live shipments, Emilio Tiu, president of
Solid Shipping Lines, said the supply of live hog started to decline
five years ago.
At present, Solid Shipping is sending 5 to 10
containers every voyage, down from 70 to 80 hog containers every
voyage, Tiu said.
He said most of the swine producers in Mindanao
went to Laguna, Batangas, and other nearby provinces near Metro
Manila to supply demand.
But Escobillo dismissed this idea by saying that
members of Socospa just expand their business in Luzon.
Tiu said swine producers in Mindanao have left
the island and decided to compete with Luzon producers.
He added that the producers are complaining of
freight charges, which stood at P42,000 per container. Every
container contains a maximum of 90 heads.
Yap explained that swine producers in Mindanao
prefer shipping frozen and cut pork meat because shipping live hogs
is vulnerable to disease. Shipping takes three days, Tiu said.
-- Ira Karen Apanay
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