Federation of Pork Producers of the Philippines Inc President Albert Lim said there is still a shortfall in hog output and the only reason this isn’t reflected in market prices is because demand for pork has been weak.

He said had pork production been adequate, pork prices would have been lower than the current prices that hover between PHP 150-175 (USD 3.28-3.84)/kg in wet markets.

However, farm price has gone down to PHP 108 (USD 2.36)/kg in Luzon and even lower in the Vis-Min region, according to Asian Agribiz.

He urged the government to distribute piglets to backyard farmers to help ensure enough supply in the latter part of the year, when pork demand shoots up because of the Christmas holidays.