DA: No SRP for livestock, meat products in CamSur

NAGA CITY---There are no standard retail prices (SRP) for livestock and meat products, being sold in the different public markets and private meatshops in the two cities and 35 towns of Camarines Sur province, an official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Bicol said recently.

The official, who requested that his name be witheld for lack of authority to speak on the matter, said that for a long time, livestock and meat products in the province are traded in the market without a SRP.

He said that the average farmgate prices of live animals such as cows, carabao, goat, pig, and chicken depends on the agreement between buyers and growers before delivery and slaughter.

When asked which government agency is responsible for the retail prices of these products, he pointed to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as the responsible office for the SRP of these commodities.

However, when interviewed by Bicol Mail, Jay Percival S. Ablan, spokesperson of DTI-Camarines Sur said they are not in charge of putting a ceiling on the prices of these livestock and their meat products, except when it comes to the prices of processed meat and food products sold in the markets like hotdogs, tocino, ham, chicken nuggets, etc.

Meanwhile, meat vendors in the Naga City People’s Mall (NCPM) confirmed that the prices of meat products especially pork remained stable even at the height of the presence of African Swine Fever (ASF) in some areas in the country.

Based on the price list posted in the NCPM meat section: pork loin costs P250/kilo; lomo, P260; laman, P250; pegue, P240; pork belly, P240; abaga casem, P240; liver, P290; spinal ribs, P250; ribs castillas, P200; kinalas, P190; pata, P180; tito, P110; bulaklak, P120; bituka (small intestine), P70; longanisa, P120; pork ocino, P240; and baga, P130.

In other public markets of the different towns in Camarines Sur, prices of meat products are lower by P10 – P20 per kilo compared to those in Naga City. However, prices of the same products in malls and private meatshop are a little higher than those sold in public markets.

Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the average farmgate price of cattle for slaughter in July to September 2019 was P113.73/kilo, liveweight. This was 4.5 percent higher than the average farmgate price level of P108.79/kilo, liveweight, in 2018.

During the third quarter of 2019, the highest average farmgate price was recorded in September at P115.63/kilo, liveweight, while the lowest was in July at P111.61/kilo liveweight.