$600 million plan to restock Filipino pig farms
Less than 30 villages and cities in the Philippines are recording ASF cases in the present, according to data presented by the Filipino Ministry of Agriculture. This is a 99% reduction in the area covered by the disease two years ago when the epidemic started. "Active cases are declining and now confined to just 22 villages," ministry spokesman Noel Reyes told a news conference, according to local media. The number of positive samples in August was the lowest in 12 months, government data showed.
Officials believe that falling infections and a government-funded hog restocking program have put the Southeast Asian country on track to being able to produce a domestic surplus of meat from 2023 forward.
The country, which was the world's seventh-largest pork importer before local demand was hit by the pandemic, was hit hard by these outbreaks and forced to increase pork imports to deal with acute domestic shortages and moderate food inflation.
Due to the animal protein deficit in the Filipino market, meat imports have risen by 44.30% in the first six months of 2021 totaling 581,827 tonnes at the end of June. Pork is leading the top, with 277,850 tonnes (+ 175%), followed by buffalo meat, 27,279 (100%), and turkey meat 844 tonnes (25%).
A recent update on USDA's 2021 forecast for the Filipino meat market shows that the Asian country is expected to increase pork imports, while poultry may fall slightly. For this year, pork imports may reach 425,000 tonnes, while poultry is expected to add 330,000 tonnes in the domestic market.
Currently, the Filipino Government has launched a 29.6 billion pesos ($586 million) program to increase local pig production with a focus on pig restocking, extending financial assistance to pig farmers and strengthening biosecurity to control the spread of the virus.
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