Africal Swine Fever (ASF) continues to put extreme strain on local swine production, and to fill the demand, the country is relying more and more on imported pork. Tariffs have been lowered, and the market is more than willing to pay to keep mouths fed.

Even before the ASF problem however, pork production overseas has been cheap compared to locally produced meat due to a number of factors. Lower costs or feed raw materials, better production methods, and a climate that’s more suited to raising swine all get passed on to the final price of the product. As of June this year, the Genesus Global Market Report shows that the price (live weight) per Kg of pork is approximately PHP 120 in China, PHP 100 from the US, and a staggering PHP 86 from Spain. Local prices are closer to the PHP 220 mark. Spain and the US are leading sources of our imported pork at over 66 million and 34 million kilograms respectively from January to June of this year, as per the BAI-NVQSD report. With the low production cost and low tariffs imposed on exporters, local producers have two beatles to fight: ASF, and overseas competition.

Competition is extremely difficult given the advantages overseas producers have, but locally running a farm that delivers quality pork and creates generous profit isn’t impossible. It comes down to processes that optimize production. Challenges particularly our warm, humid tropical climate which isn’t conducive to pig growth, cannot be changed. The heat stress and oxidative stress that follows is a given for hog raisers in the Philippines, but it’s by no means impossible to overcome. It comes down to a matter of delivering the correct nutrients and cellular building blocks in the proper amounts to allow the animals to be able to cope with the stresses that surround them, be it heat and oxidative stress, or pathogenic challenges such as ASF, or bacterial infections.

To be and remain competitive, it’s all about increasing farm efficiency. Whether it’s from what feed is supplied, to processes that cover biosecurity and growing efficiency, it’s all about maximizing performance to maximize profit.

Contact us at Ultra Bio Corporation so we can help you compete in the local market.

(Photo by Kameron Kincade on Unsplash)