LECHON RICE Roast pig is the main fare in a boodle fight organized by local governments and hog raisers in Batangas to show that locally produced pork is safe for consumption. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Backyard raisers in the provinces have begun selling live hogs at lower cost, amid a public scare and reduced consumption of pork meat due to the African swine fever.
In Laguna and Batangas, local governments and private farms have joined the trend of holding “boodle fights” that feature roasted pigs to address consumers’ fear, even if not a single swine fever case has been recorded
In Batangas City, a “Porktoberfest” was held on Wednesday to appease hog farmers and also promote pork “as still the prime protein source,” said Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines (Agap) Rep. Rico Geron.
Agap, Sorosoro Ibaba Development Cooperative and the city veterinary and agricultural services served 15 roasted pigs during the festival.
In Sta. Cruz, Laguna, also on Wednesday, Barangay San Jose and the provincial veterinary office served 10 roasted pigs as part of its information campaign on swine fever.
Panic
In Bulacan province, roast pigs were served in community meals in Guiguinto town on Tuesday and the City of Malolos on Wednesday to show that local pork was safe for human consumption.
Five roast pigs came from Barangay Pritil in Guiguinto where 61 pigs, believed to be infected with swine fever, were culled in August.
Despite assurances from the government, Geron said the swine fever scare continued to affect the hog industry. He said hog raisers were in “panic” to sell their livestock, rather than lose them to the disease, by reducing the selling price of live animals to P80 to P90 a kilogram.
The regular farm-gate price of live hogs is P105 to P120 a kilo, according to the Department of Agriculture. The price of pork in the market, however, ranges from P105 to P120 a kilo.
In Isabela, Gov. Rodolfo Albano III on Tuesday banned the entry of hogs and fresh and processed pork products in the province. He also asked the police to put up checkpoints in the province, which hosts some of the biggest hog farms in the country.
Earlier, the provinces of Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya had declared a ban on entry of hogs from other areas.
In Pampanga province, officials of National Meat Inspection Service said 17 private slaughterhouses in Central Luzon had not accepted or culled hogs that were ill with swine fever. —Reports from Maricar Cinco, Villamor Visaya Jr., Tonette Orejas and Carmela Reyes-Estrope