MANILA - Agricultural Secretary Arthur Yap, on Wednesday, reported that retail prices of choice pork items like liempo, pigue and kasim have started to go down in Metro Manila markets from last week’s rates of as high as P160-P170/kg.
Yap reported the price backs following last Monday’s agreement by major hog industry players and Department of Agriculture (DA) officials to adopt a “reference price" band of P140 to P150 for these prime cuts.
In a press statement, Yap said he visited the Mega Q-Mart in Quezon City Wednesday morning and found that choice pork cuts were selling for an average P140 to P145 a kilogram, with some stalls selling for as low as P135.
Aside from this Mega Q-Mart where the lowest retail price was monitored, Yap also instructed DA Assistant Secretary, Salvador Salacup, and Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Director, Davinio Catbagan, to monitor more markets so as to check on whether the agreement reached with industry players ranging from producers and meat processors to wholesalers and retailers on a “reference price" during the DA-hosted dialogue had started “to bear fruit."
GMANews.TV reports that Yap expressed optimism that the price drop will boost consumer demand, thereby benefiting not only consumers in the form of cheaper pork items but the producers and traders as well, in the form of higher sales and more profits.
“As agreed upon during the October 6th dialogue at the DA central office, agriculture officials and the hog industry players would be meeting on a regular basis to review the ‘reference price’ accord and to take up other concerns that are meant to ensure the steady supply at reasonable prices of prime pork cuts, especially during the Christmas season," he said.
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