HOG DELIVERIES to Metro Manila have exceeded 450,000 animals, part of an effort to boost the pork supply following the depletion of hog inventories due to the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
The DA said in a report that 5,055 hogs arrived in Metro Manila on May 24, bring the total to 452,126 live animals since the implementation of pork price controls via Executive Order No. 124 on Feb. 8.
Some 2,348 hogs were shipped from General Santos City and South Cotabato; 978 from Batangas and Quezon; 630 from Sorsogon and Camarines Sur; and 465 from Bohol.
Other areas that delivered animals were Oriental Mindoro with 212; Bukidnon 162; and Zamboanga del Sur and Northern Samar, both with 130.
Since Feb. 8, the DA said Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) accounted for 40.45% of hog deliveries; followed by Western Visayas at 21.44%; and Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan) at 13.39%.
Meanwhile, the DA said an additional 34,188 kilograms of pork in carcass form arrived in Metro Manila on May 24. The shipments brought the total carcass deliveries to Metro Manila to 3.34 million kilograms since Feb. 8, with Central Luzon the top source.
In a separate briefing Tuesday, DA National Livestock Program Director Ruth S. Miclat-Sonaco said the ASF vaccine trials are yielding positive results.
“We hope that the response of the vaccinated animals will continue to be positive such that by next year, the country will have a vaccine that can be used on the hogs,” Ms. Miclat-Sonaco said.
She said the DA’s plan to study the use of anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin and other anti-virals to contain ASF is still in the process of completion.
“The protocols are still being polished in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because Ivermectin for animals is used to control parasites. Now, it will be used for another disease which means it should be registered again for that specific application,” Ms. Miclat-Sonaco said.
“The application is already with the FDA. We hope that within the next few weeks it will be approved and then we can go on with the official conduct of research,” she added. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
