By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The number of hogs being shipped outside Negros Occidental has declined, data from the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) showed.

PVO head, Dr. Placeda Lemana said the volume of hogs shipped outside the province decreased significantly from approximately 10,000 kilograms in July of this year to over 3,000 kilos.

Lemana said the primary reason for the decline is due to the cancellation of the certificate of free status (CFS) for African swine fever (ASF) by the Bureau of Animal Industry.

The cancellation was prompted by the detection of an ASF case in Hinigaran town, that later categorized the locality as a red zone.

Meanwhile, neighboring areas were classified as pink zones, leading to the revocation of their CFS.

Lemana said they reassure residents that local commercial and backyard hog raisers refrain from selling pork products and livestock outside the province.

She acknowledged that hog raisers might be tempted to sell their livestock to buyers in other regions due to the more attractive prices offered.

Based on PVO’s monitoring, the current price of pork in Negros Occidental ranges from P285 to P290 per kilo.

Local commercial raisers sell their live-weight pigs at P175 to P185 per kilo, while backyard raisers sell their hogs at P165 to P175 per kilo./DGB, WDJ