There is enough pork in Cebu despite ban, says producers

Local meat producers in Cebu assure the public that there is enough pork supply even with the continuing pork ban. DALE ISRAEL/INQUIRER VISAYAS

CEBU CITY –– Local meat producers in Cebu said there was enough pork supply even with the continuing pork ban imposed by Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia from areas affected by the African Swine Fever (ASF).

Rolando Tambago, president of the Central Visayas Pork Producers Cooperative (Cevippco), said the impact of the continuing ban would not be felt strongly by consumers since there is enough supply for the next three months.

“By then, (after three months), hopefully, the local suppliers could have already ramped up production,” said Tambago.

He said Cevippco has also assured the consumers that there would be “steady prices”  of pork as the ban continued.

Some of the popular fast-food chains in the country that are operating in Cebu continued to offer pork-less products. Some of their viands were offered without pork while others did not offer pork at all.

Governor Garcia, who created the Cebu ASF Task Force, has imposed the ban on the entry of pork and pork-related products from Luzon, Mindanao, Eastern Visayas, as well as countries affected by ASF including Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Luxembourg, Belgium, Bulgaria, Moldova, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, South Korea, and China.

One of the biggest local pork producers in Cebu is expanding its retail offering in several towns in Cebu and Western Visayas.

Tambago, president of Virginia Farms, said since there was enough supply of ASF-free pork here, they would expand its reach to 16 more branches in Cebu and Panay Island.

The incidence of ASF, he said, was an opportunity to educate the public to consume local meat products, and support the local pork industry.

Cebu is the 4th largest pork producing province in the country with the local hog industry valued at P11 billion. The province produces 53,890 metric tons of pork annually./lzb