But the city’s Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF) saw an increase in prices of poultry products due to the high cost of feeds.
In an interview with SunStar Cebu Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, DVMF head Dr. Jessica Maribojoc said Cebu and the entire Central Visayas remain free of the ASF virus.
Border controls are also in place in every port of entry in the city to make sure that no pork products coming from places with confirmed ASF cases will enter Cebu, she added.
On Friday, Dec. 16, the DVMF confiscated 10 kilograms of pork that originated from Ozamiz City in Misamis Occidental.
Despite the strict border control, Maribojoc said prices of pigs for lechon and other pork products have not increased, especially this holiday season.
She added that there is enough supply of the pigs being used for lechon. She said pigs are mostly sourced from Negros Oriental, which is also ASF-free.
Based on their monitoring, the live weight of pigs is being sold at P160 per kilo compared to P210 per kilo months after the onslaught of Typhoon Odette (Rai) in December 2021.
Maribojoc said there is enough supply of hams in supermarkets in Cebu City since their products are being imported from ASF-free countries.
But she noted that prices of dressed chicken have increased from P190 to P210 per kilo compared to P150 to P160 per kilo in the last two months.
Maribojoc said the increase can be attributed to the high cost of raw materials from other countries that will be used in making feeds.
The prices may return to their regular levels during the second quarter of 2023 since this is the usual trend of poultry prices, she added.