The country’s pork self-sufficiency ratio is at its lowest last year, as the African swine fever reduced domestic output and caused imports to hit a record high.
The Philippines’ pork self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) plunged to 74.3 percent in 2021 from 91 percent in 2020 because of the African swine fever (ASF) that reduced domestic output while driving imports to an all-time high.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that pork SSR was the lowest on record or since 1988. It was also the first time that the country's pork SSR fell below the 80 percent mark, Business Mirror reported.
PSA defined SSR as the magnitude of production in relation to domestic utilization or production resources.
The higher the ratio, the greater the self-sufficiency.
ASF effect
The ASF's devastation of commercial and backyard hog farms across the country had an impact on the country's pork SSR. Since 2019, nearly 4 million pigs were culled because of the dreaded hog disease.
PSA data showed local pork production volume in 2021 declined by a fifth on an annual basis to 1.43 million metric tons (MMT), the lowest level in 19 years.
“For the period 2019 to 2021, pork production decreased annually by an average of -13.8 percent.” PSA said.
“It exhibited a downtrend from 1.94 million metric tons in 2019 to 1.43 million metric tons in 2021.” it added.
Pork imports
Total pork imports in 2021 soared to a new high of 494,789 metric tons (MT), more than doubling the 179,669 MT recorded in 2020.
Pork imports peaked in 2021 at 494,790 MT and was at the lowest in 2020 at 179,670 MT. During the reference period, it averaged 320,32) MT.
PSA data also revealed that the country's hog industry is showing signs of recovery this year, with both output and inventory increasing year on year.
The total hog inventory nationwide grew by 2.08 percent year on year to 10 million heads as of October 1. Based on PSA data, the country's pig herd reached 10 million for the first time in two years since ASF first struck hog farms in 2019.
Similarly, local hog production also increased by 2.07 percent from January to September to 1.271 MMT, up from 1.245 MMT in the same 9-month period last year.
Meanwhile, the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines Inc. (ProPork) said it “agreed” to support the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) programs to support and boost the local pork industry.
“[DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo F.] Panganiban said we can always come to him if we have concerns that need to be addressed,” ProPork President Rolando Tambago said.
“We look forward to working with him and the rest of his team, [Bureau of Animal Industry] and [National Meat Inspection Service]. We truly hope that this will start a more cooperative setup for the betterment of our industry.” Tambago added.
Tambago also mentioned that the local pork industry is still suffering from ASF.
“Many people rely on the industry for their livelihood so it is important to keep them going. Unfortunately, the losses have been very hard on a lot of us.” he said.
Tags: #Pork, #SSR, #PSA