The Department of Agriculture (DA) warned the public about the possible shortage in the supply of pork starting in April due to the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF).
Agriculture Assistant Secretary and deputy spokesman Rex Estoperez have confirmed the report by the National Livestock Program (NLP) on the expected shortage of over 46,104 metric tons in June&mdash;having a huge gap with the demanded 145,849 MT.
"That&rsquo;s the projection. We still need to verify if the projection is correct, but it may be too late," said the secretary.
He also called for the cooperation of the public and local government units (LGUs) to prevent the spread of the virus.
"As long as we do not cooperate, as long as we do not follow protocols, that will happen, that is why we are appealing to our fellow Filipinos to cooperate. Right now, we are doing our best to coordinate with LGUs to avoid the spread," he added.
Estoperez also noted that the ASF outbreak will not solely affect the industry, but as well as the consumers as the price could continuously increase if the virus is not contained.
According to DA inspection, the selling cost of pork liempo varied from P340 to P420 per kilo and kasim from P270 to P350 per kilo.

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DA confirms possible pork shortage in April due to ASF