The Department of Agriculture (DA) is set to investigate the low compliance rate of pork retailers with the agency’s maximum suggested retail price (MSRP).
According to Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa, only 20% of the 170 surveyed retailers have adhered to the price cap. Under the measure, retailers are urged to sell liempo at no more than ₱380 per kilo, while pigue and ham should not exceed ₱350 per kilo.
“But nevertheless, isang linggo pa lang naman yung nakalipas. Kung tingnan natin yung nangyari sa bigas, nung nag-start ang MSRP, talagang hindi naman din gano’n kabilis yung compliance. Nagkakaroon ng correction sa market,” De Mesa said.
While the MSRP is a non-coercive measure aimed at lowering prices, some retailers argue that complying would mean absorbing losses, as farmgate prices are already higher than the set cap.
“Yung pork, supposed to be, mas mabilis ang compliance. Kasi yung karneng baboy, pag kinatay yan, dapat ubusin yan within the day eh. Hindi kagaya ng bigas na pwede mong iimbak for a longer period of time,” De Mesa said.
“So dapat itong karneng baboy, mas mabilis yung dapat pag-comply nila with the MSRP. So ito, pag-aaralan mabuti. Ano yung mga issues?” he added.
Officials from the DA recently inspected the Balintawak Market, where they observed a slight decrease in pork prices. However, in some wet markets, liempo is still being sold at ₱470 per kilo, well above the suggested price.
The DA is now conducting a thorough review to determine the challenges and roadblocks preventing full compliance with the MSRP.
DA to Probe Low Compliance with Pork Price Cap
