DA mulls imposing maximum SRP for pork in March
After lowering rice prices, the Department of Agriculture (DA) is considering selling pork in a bid to provide a cheaper alternative to Filipino consumers amid elevated retail prices.
In an interview on Monday, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said that selling pork at Kadiwa outlets is one of the strategies that the DA is considering to temper pork prices.
“Similar to rice, where we introduced Rice-for-All, we are also looking into the possibility that DA can also intervene,” said de Mesa, concurrently serving as the DA’s spokesperson. The agency is still in the process of fleshing out the details.
“There are initial talks about that; we’ll share with you once it’s finalized,” he told reporters.
De Mesa also said the DA will likely implement the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for pork by next month, subject to consultations with relevant stakeholders.
The agency has not yet disclosed the final MSRP for pork, which will be set at less than P400 per kilogram.
“If the farmgate price is P250 [per kg] and the profit margin is P100 to P100 plus, [the MSRP] of P380 is reasonable,” he said. “The secretary earlier said that anything above P400 is excessive.”
The same strategy we adopted for rice will be applied to pork. We will know the reasonable price so that when we set an MSRP, they will follow and avoid excessive profiteering or excessively high prices.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. earlier said the DA was studying the possibility of setting an MSRP to address the “excessive” gap between farmgate and retail prices.
Tiu Laurel had said the DA was closely looking into the matter as the prevailing retail pork price of P400 per kg or higher was “unreasonable.”
As of February 15, pork belly retailed for between P380 to P480 per kg, while frozen kasim was sold for between P230-P290 per kg., frozen liempo cost between P290 to P350 per kg, and pork ham cost between P350 to P420 per kg.
The DA has taken similar measures to address the elevated retail prices of rice, a staple food among Filipino households.
The DA slashed the MSRP for imported rice (5 percent broken) to P52 per kg. from P55 per kg, effective Feb. 15, in response to lower global rice prices and higher domestic supply.
“In the international market from January 2025, the price trend of rice shows a continued decline in India, Thailand, and Vietnam,” the DA said in Administrative Order No. 3, which set the new MSRP for imported rice.
At the same time, the DA continues selling different types of rice under its Rice-for-All program, with 5 percent broken rice being sold at P43 per kilogram, 25 percent broken rice at P35 per kg. and 100 percent broken rice at P33 per kg.
