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Rice, meat supply sufficient for holidays – DA

September 22, 2022 Cory Martinez 272 views

THERE will be “enough” rice and meat supplies to meet the high demand for this coming holiday season.

This was assured by the Department of Agriculture (DA), saying that the agriculture sector remains capable of producing enough rice and meat.

Based on the report of the National Rice Program to the DA, there is an increase in local “palay” production, and the production of the farmers will be enough to meet the demand towards the end of the year.

The DA, however, revealed that the retail prices might be affected by the ongoing drought in China due to its implications on the cost of palay production, as well as the presence of rice varieties from other countries.

Meanwhile, the DA livestock group—composed of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), the National Dairy Authority (NDA), the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC), and the International Training Center on Pig Husbandry confirmed the country’s meat-sufficiency, especially in terms of local chickens and pigs.

According to the DA’s Philippine Food Supply, Demand, and Sufficiency Outlook for 2022, the total broiler supply for the year is 1.82 million metric tons (MT)—1.65 million MT of which are locally produced.

With the demand for broilers expected at around 1.64 million MT this year, consumers are assured that there will be a generous supply to last up to early 2023.

On the other hand, the pork supply outlook presented a 1.79 million MT demand for the year—about 0.10 million MT higher than the country’s total supply.

However, local pork production was estimated to be at 1.34 million MT, comprising the majority of the total pork supply. Only 0.29 million MT of pork were imported in 2022.

According to the DA Bantay Presyo, the prevailing prices in National Capital Region (NCR) markets for Sept. 19, are P190/kilo for whole dressed chicken; P300/kilo for pork ham or kasim; P370/kilo for pork liempo; P420/kilo for beef rump; and P360/kilo for beef brisket.

However, the DA price monitoring group also released on the same day a list of NCR markets that revealed some vendors selling chicken and pork at much lower prices.

The DA is continuously working on maintaining the stability of the price and monitoring supply to help local producers produce enough for the demand.

The availability and sufficiency of fish products, on the other hand, have yet to be determined in an upcoming stakeholders’ meeting.

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