Shortage of Christmas hams feared due to swine fever

MANILA, Philippines — The continuous spread of African swine fever (ASF) in the country could dampen this year’s Christmas festivities as local government restrictions as well as pork production cutbacks may lead to shortage of Christmas hams, especially in the provinces.

After the Department of Agriculture (DA) confirmed new cases of ASF in Quezon City and received possible reports of more incidents of the disease in Bulacan and Pampanga, 69 percent of the country’s provinces — the majority of which are in the Visayas and Mindanao — have banned the shipment of pork and pork products from ASF-infested areas.

Over the weekend, processed pork products bound for the Visayas and Mindanao were shipped back to Luzon amid ASF jitters, escalating worries that there won’t be enough Christmas hams and other pork-based products in these regions.

Won’t be able to supply

“While Cebu and Cagayan de Oro have their own ham production capabilities, their total production will not be able to supply the needs of the regions unless the ban on Luzon-produced pork-based processed meats is rationalized,” the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) said.

As such, a temporary oversupply is expected to hit Luzon while prices of the holiday treat in the Visayas and Mindanao may shoot up between 5 and 11 percent.

Presently, a kilogram of the so-called “fiesta ham” is sold for P525 in supermarkets, while “jamon de bola” and glazed hams can be bought for P315 and P205 a kilo, respectively.

Pampi vice president and CDO Foodsphere president Jerome Ong noted that given the seasonality of Christmas hams and the limited facilities for making it, most companies started manufacturing between June and July.

Cutting back Christmas ham production at this period may already be too late, but Ong said companies were already looking to slash the production of other processed pork items by 35 percent.

The ASF outbreak had also led to the discontinued hiring of some 10,000 seasonal workers nationwide.

Be reasonable with ban

In a statement, Pampi said Visayas and Mindanao generally represents about 35 to 40 percent of total sales of processed meat products in the country.

It continues to appeal to local government units to be reasonable with the banning orders, adding that for the coming season, the industry may be setback by at least P18 billion.