Cebu ban on Luzon pork stretched to June 2020

CEBU CITY—The Cebu provincial government has extended until next year the ban on pork and pork products from Luzon and countries with cases of African swine fever (ASF).

At a press conference on Monday yet, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said the ban on pork from Luzon stays until June 30, 2020. The ban was originally scheduled to end on Dec. 8, 2019.

Garcia said she had wanted to lift the ban but it appeared that ASF in Luzon has not been contained.

She said she was constrained to protect Cebu’s P11-billion hog industry by preventing the entry of pork from places with ASF cases.

Instead of abating in Luzon, Garcia said ASF cases even spread further in “alarming proportions.”

The ban, however, may be lifted sooner than June 30, 2020 should there be a sign that ASF had been contained in Luzon.

Cebu is the largest pork-producing province in Central Visayas and fourth in the entire country. The province has also been famous for its “lechon” or roast pig.

According to data from the provincial agriculture office, Cebu consumes 61.6 million kilograms of pork per year. Tourists consume some 1.8 million kilograms of that.

Cebu pork producers have sold 99,898 metric tons of pork in 2018 with an estimated value of more than P10 million./TSB