Supply questions in the Philippines

Local pig prices in the Philippines have eased recently to around P105 per kilogram liveweight for animals from commercial units, although there remain fears about pork supplies after backyard production was decimated in 2007 by an unidentified disease. Imports of pork meanwhile increase, with almost 9000 tons purchased from the USA in the first 4 months of the year. National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc (NFHFI) has urged the department of agriculture to defer the approval of exports of pigmeat to Singapore until the recovery of the industry is more clear.

NFHFI vice-chairman Renato Eleria said the pig sector remained highly vulnerable to a recurrence of the influenza-like disease that almost wiped out backyard units last year. The federation has also joined with Philippine poultry and feed associations in calling for the government to assist national food security by removing tariffs on imported feed materials such as soybean meal and manioc. Given the rise in world market prices for these commodities, they comments, it had become economically unviable to produce animal feeds without significantly raising prices to recover cost.

Also in the Philippines, tax relief has been granted to the country's largest pork producer over an investment in pig production on previously disputed land in Sumilao, Bukidnon. Farmers in the area have campaigned on ownership of the land for over 18 years, but recently were handed 50 hectares of the 144-hectare property. Now the Monterey Foods subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation wants to invest P1.81 billion in building facilities in Sumilao for pig production and meat processing. The project, due to start operating next year, has been awarded tax breaks and other incentives by the national Board of Investments.

Another company involved in investing in new pork production arrangements is Aboitiz Equity Ventures. The holding group for a series of meat and food businesses will spend about P900 million on expanding its pig and feed operations in Tarlac and Iligan. A new 10 000 tons/month feedmill will be ready by July for the group's subsidiary Fil-Am Foods.