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The Department of Agriculture (DA) and swine industry stakeholders have agreed to intensify the enforcement of the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) on pork, with the private sector pledging to police its ranks and prevent profiteering at the expense of consumers.
The renewed commitment followed a consultative meeting held Monday, April 14, after DA market inspections conducted since early April revealed alarmingly low compliance—fewer than 10% of sellers were found adhering to the MSRPs.
Under current DA guidelines, the MSRP is set at P300 per kilo for freshly slaughtered carcass, P350 per kilo for pigue (leg/ham) and kasim (shoulder), and P380 per kilo for liempo (pork belly).
Agriculture Undersecretary for Livestock Dante Palabrica underscored the need to uphold the gentleman’s agreement reached in earlier consultations to avoid implementing more disruptive market interventions.
He noted that the MSRPs aim to strike a fair balance between the interests of producers, traders, retailers, and consumers—especially in light of continued inflationary pressures.
As part of longer-term solutions, Palabrica also announced the rollout of a P1-billion swine repopulation program, recently approved by Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. The initiative will distribute around 30,000 gilts to large farms, which will, in turn, repay the government by providing reared pigs for distribution to backyard farmers.
Secretary Tiu Laurel has previously called on the swine industry to back the government’s three-year plan to rebuild the national hog inventory to its pre-African Swine Fever level of 14 million heads by 2028, up from the current estimate of around 8 million.
To further stabilize pork prices, the DA’s Food Terminal Inc. has begun purchasing 500 pigs daily from large farms and delivering them directly to slaughterhouses. The move is intended to ensure consistent supply and reinforce compliance with the established MSRPs.
April 21, 2025/ Department of Agriculture/ The Philippines.
https://www.da.gov.ph
