MANILA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines has recorded a huge supply deficit in pork since the African swine fever (ASF) swept the country in 2019, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said on Thursday.
Citing a Philippine Statistics Authority report, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said as of Feb. 8 this year, the country's swine inventory decreased by 3 million heads or 24 percent from 2020 to 2021.
"This significant drop is caused by the ASF outbreak, which affected almost all regions of the country," Chua told a senate committee investigating the ASF impact on food security.
The country's projected carcass pork deficit for 2021 is around 477,000 metric tons, said Chua, adding that the large supply deficit has led to a rapid spike in the retail price of pork.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte issued an executive order last week to lower tariffs on imported pork meat for a year. Enditem
