The Department of Agriculture in Davao Region (DA-11) assured Tuesday of a stable supply of pork meat and by-products during the holiday season. Monday Aretaño, DA-11 regional livestock program coordinator, said the forecast was made since there has been no shortage in the supply of pork and its by-products since last year. ‘We have a stable supply in 2022 and the first two quarters of this year. So this coming December, there will be no shortage of pork supply,’ Aretaño assured in a press briefing here. Aretaño, however, said price increase is a possibility, counting such factors as logistics, increase in oil and fuel products, and conflicts in other countries. According to DA-11 data, the pork sufficiency level in the region is projected to reach around 183 percent by the end of the year. Aretaño also noted that the African swine fever is no longer a problem since most of the affected provinces have recovered. ‘Davao City is now a pink zone as per the Bureau of Animal Industry. Other provinces are also complying (to be converted to pink zones),’ she said. Pink zones act as buffers between virus-free areas and adjacent red zones with infections. Live hogs, pork, and pork products cannot be transported from a red (infected) zone to pink.
Source: Philippines News Agency