The African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak in the CALABARZON region also affected the business of feed millers following a significant decline in demand for livestock feeds.
Rico Geron, chief executive of Batangas-based Sorosoro Ibaba Development Cooperative, highlighted the dire situation affecting feed millers and farmers in the region.
“We are losing 50 percent of our revenues due to the depletion of pigs, and the livelihoods of thousands of Batanguenos are at stake,” he said.
The impact of ASF extends beyond feed millers. Consumers are also expected to face higher pork prices in the coming weeks if the vaccination process is not accelerated.
Alice Maraan, general manager of Cavite Farmers Feedmilling and Marketing Cooperative, expressed worries over the government’s slow response in securing ASF vaccines. “If our members are affected by ASF, feed millers also suffer. We need the government to expedite the vaccination process,” she said.
Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines Inc. representative Fritz Kenneth Chua echoed questioned the delays in the inoculation process despite the availability of vaccines. “The vaccine is readily available, yet the rollout is so sluggish. What is happening?” he asked.
AGAP Partylist Rep. Nick Briones criticized the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for what he called excessive testing requirements. “The problem is already here, so why are they not acting fast? Lives of our hogs and swine are at stake, as well as the livelihood of our industry,” he said.
While the FDA emphasized the importance of clinical testing to ensure vaccine safety and efficacy, Agriculture Secretary Francis Tiu Laurel Jr. maintained that the government is working to expedite the approval process.
He acknowledged that it could still take six months in the best-case scenario.
ASF has affected pigs in 14 regions, 31 provinces, 109 municipalities and 472 barangays in the Philippines as of Sept. 6. Only the AVAC ASF Live vaccine from Vietnam has been approved for limited government-controlled rollout.
The government is expanding the vaccination program to include additional regions in the Visayas and Mindanao, aiming to vaccinate 150,000 pigs with the initial doses imported from Vietnam.
