(Photo courtesy of Senate)
MANILA – Senator Francis Pangilinan on Wednesday urged the government to sustain measures supporting local hog raisers, saying the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) 60-day suspension of pork imports should help improve farmgate prices and restore profitability in the domestic hog industry.
Pangilinan, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform, welcomed the temporary restriction as an initial step toward addressing declining hog prices and rising production costs.
“Matagal nang hinaing ng ating mga hog raisers ang mababang farmgate prices dahil luging-lugi naman sila sa napakataas na cost of production ng pag-aalaga ng baboy. Kaya we welcome this development from the DA,” Pangilinan said in a statement.
He noted that farmgate prices of live hogs had dropped from around Php 215 per kilogram in June 2025 to approximately Php 150 in August 2026, with some areas reporting prices ranging from Php 120 to Php 160 per kilogram.
According to Pangilinan, the continued decline has made it difficult for local producers to recover their investments and maintain operations.
The DA’s 60-day suspension covers fresh, chilled and frozen pork products, including carcasses, half-carcasses, hams, shoulders, bone-in cuts and edible pork offal.
Pangilinan called on the agriculture department to closely monitor farmgate prices during the suspension and assess whether the measure would be enough to help hog raisers recover.
He said authorities should consider extending the restriction or introducing additional interventions if farmgate prices remain below production costs.
“Hindi naman natin isasara ang pintuan sa pork imports. Ang gusto natin ay kontrolado at tamang timing sa pagpasok ng mga imported na agricultural products, tulad ng karneng baboy, para hindi nito mapatay ang kabuhayan ng ating mga magbababoy,” he said.
The senator clarified that the objective is not to permanently block pork imports but to regulate their entry to prevent adverse effects on domestic producers.
Pangilinan also emphasized the need to balance the interests of hog raisers and consumers, particularly households already struggling with high food prices.
He said the government’s long-term priority should be ensuring a stable pork supply while allowing local producers to earn reasonable profits and keeping prices affordable for consumers.
Pangilinan had earlier pushed for stricter import controls and stronger government intervention to address declining farmgate prices and protect the livelihoods of Filipino hog raisers.
