THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it is planning to roll out a “short-term” maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) scheme for imported pork, in response to inadequate domestic supply.
The MSRP will take effect in response to rising prices, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. said at a press conference.
The MSRP is also expected to deter profiteering, in the case of retailers selling imported frozen pork for the price of fresh slaughtered pork, he said.
“We’ll just give consumers a cheaper alternative. That’s the only way to lower the price automatically,” he said.
To accompany the MSRP scheme for imported pork, the DA will enforce stricter labeling, Mr. Laurel said.
He said the DA will no longer restore the MSRP for domestically grown pork as initially planned because supply is tight.
He noted that it will take a minimum of three years to return the hog population to where it was before the African Swine Fever outbreak.
Mr. Laurel said he is also considering selling pork directly to consumers in over 30 Kadiwa outlets in Metro Manila.
The pork-for-all program is also being considered for companies participating in the government’s P20-per-kilo rice program, he added.
The DA has said it is expanding a direct-sourcing program from farms to cut out middlemen by effectively subsidizing logistics costs
Under the scheme, Food Terminal, Inc. will deliver the hogs to slaughterhouses for distribution to public markets. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza