The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Saturday moved to calm public concern over fears that pork and chicken prices could soar to extreme levels amid the ongoing Middle East crisis, stressing that earlier figures discussed in a Senate hearing were only based on a worst-case scenario and do not reflect the government’s actual expectations.
Speaking at a news forum in Quezon City, DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the agency does not expect retail prices of pork and chicken to climb to the alarming levels earlier cited, even as tensions in the Middle East continue to fuel worries over a possible global oil shock.
His clarification came after the DA projected during a Senate hearing last Tuesday that pork prices could rise as high as P580 per kilo and chicken could reach P349 per kilo if crude oil were to surge to $200 per barrel and the conflict in the Middle East drags on until August.
De Mesa emphasized that the figures were intended only to show the possible impact under the most severe conditions, particularly if the government does not step in to cushion the blow on the agriculture sector and consumers.
He said current market conditions remain far from that scenario, noting that cold storage facilities are currently well-stocked with both locally produced and imported meat. This, he said, should help prevent supply shortages and temper the risk of a dramatic jump in retail prices.
The DA official also clarified in a separate radio interview that the earlier projection was based solely on domestic production estimates and did not include the stabilizing effect of imported meat supply, which continues to augment local inventories.
Even as it sought to ease public anxiety, the department said it is moving quickly to roll out financial assistance for agriculture stakeholders vulnerable to the ripple effects of rising oil prices. De Mesa said the DA is targeting the release of cash aid by April 6 for some 4.175 million farmers and fisherfolk under the P10-billion Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk program.
The assistance, amounting to P2,325 per beneficiary, is expected to be funded once the Department of Budget and Management releases the allocation by April 2.
The DA is also activating additional support through its P1-billion quick response fund, which became available after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of national energy emergency. According to de Mesa, the fund will be used to procure key farm inputs, including fertilizers, as the sector braces for higher production costs driven by fuel-related price pressures.
With both financial assistance and supply interventions being readied, the agriculture department signaled that it is working to keep food prices manageable and shield both producers and consumers from the full impact of global market disruptions.