The Department of Agriculture is set to implement a maximum SRP for pork by March amidst rising pork prices.
Data from DA Bantay Presyo shows that some pork cuts sell as high as P480 per kilo in some wet markets in Metro Manila.
In a briefing on Monday, Agriculture spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the consultation with stakeholders will be finalized this week so that the maximum SRP will be implemented next month.
The final figure for the MSRP is yet to be announced, but officials earlier hinted it would be below P400.
“Kung farmgate mo P250, so yung nababanggit nga ng 100 to 100 plus na profit margin. So P380 is reasonable. Sinabi na naman ni Secretary, anything above 400 is medyo sobra,” De Mesa said.
(If farmgate is P250, and then you have a profit margin of P100 and above, then P380 is reasonable. The Secretary earlier said that anything above P400 is excessive.)
The agency earlier set ‘maximum SRP’ or ‘MSRP’ for rice, which has been lowered regularly to influence prevailing market prices.
“Kaya nga tayo mag-set ng MSRP for the compliance. At kaya nga merong pag-aaral muna and then susunod ang mga konsultasyon para lahat aware dun sa mga gagawing hakbang at para bago pa man din magkaroon ng paglalatag ng MSRP. So yung likelihood ng compliance mataas,” De Mesa said.
(We are setting the MSRP for compliance. We study it first and then we consult with stakeholders so everyone is aware even before we implement it.)
“The same na naging strategy with rice. Malaman natin na dapat ganito lamang yung presyo so pag naglatag tayo ng MSRP, susunod sila at maiwasan yung sobrang profit yun o sobrang paglalagay ng mataas na presyo,” he added.
(Same strategy with rice. We will know the right pricing and when we implement the MSRP, they will follow. We will avoid having excessive profits and selling at exorbitant prices.)
Consumers like Liezl Santos, who runs her own eatery, said they are feeling the spike in pork prices.
“Nagbabawas na kami ng bili ng pork kasi ang mahal. Nasa 100 ata tinaas,” she said.
(We are cutting our pork purchases since pork is so expensive now. It went higher by around P100.)
The Department is also mulling the direct sale of cheaper pork, similar to the Rice for All program.
“Similar to rice where we introduce yung Rice for All, we are also looking in the possibility that DA can also intervene doon,” he added.
In a February press briefing, National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa noted that prices climbedbecause of the problem of African swine fever in some parts of the Philippines.
Inflation was at 2.9 percent in January, as price increases for food quickened.
