A newly established Kadiwa has started its operation in Puerto Princesa City to sell meat products at a lower price and help the local swine raisers to get a fair price for their livestock.
Weeks ago, the Department of Agriculture (DA) – MIMAROPA officially opened the Kadiwa Meat Shop within the Palawan Research and Experimentation Station (PRES) of the DA located in the city’s government center in Barangay Tiniguiban and Sta. Monica, paving the way to help augment the income of hog growers in the locality. The Kadiwa Meat Shop is the newest addition to the existing Kadiwa in the area that started to operate last year as it served as a major distribution point of locally produced agricultural products such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, and other crops.
The establishment of the above-mentioned program is a boost to the local swine industry, specifically to the project proponent, the Palawan Swine Producers Association (PSPA).
Eric Villanueva, PSPA president, said that being in the swine industry was never easy, especially in dealing with unscrupulous traders. He admitted that they experienced problems and hardships in dealing with hog traders, thus, he is thankful that the DA came to assist and provided them with a chance to sell their products at a fair price.
Antonio Gerundio, Regional Executive Director of the DA-Mimaropa, said that the establishment of Kadiwa is to offer a fair price for swine producers.
He added that swine producers are unfairly transacted by swine buyers, traders or middlemen because of the very low farmgate price, while pork products sold at the market are very high. With the current farmgate price of a hog is only at P150 per kilo, the price of meat in the market ranges from P230 to P250 per kilo. Ironically, the P150 per kilo as a farmgate price for hogs for slaughter/live weight is unfair considering that the production cost is P130 per kilo, giving only a meager profit for swine raisers.
Based on the Swine Situation Report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for the first quarter of 2021, they reported that the average farmgate price of hogs upgraded for slaughter was P153.70 per kilo, live weight, which is 47.2 percent higher compared that of the farmgate price of P104.44 per kilo in the same period last year.
However, in Kadiwa, the buying price for hogs is higher than the P150 farmgate price.
“Nagtayo tayo ng Kadiwa to address nitong meat supplies. Kasi nung una, nagreklamo na mahal na mahal ‘yung karne. Murang mura naman ‘yung kuha sa farmgate. In fact, ang farmgate ay 150 lang. Ang production cost ay 120 to 130. Masyadong maliit ‘yung tubo ng ating mga magbababoy. Kaya gusto nila sa kadiwa kasi mas mahal ‘yung bentahan ng karne eh,” Gerundio explained.
Several groups of hog raisers in some parts of the country have been appealing to the DA to set a standard buying price for live weight hogs as a deterrent to unscrupulous traders and middlemen who are taking advantage at the expense of the small swine raisers. But with this government intervention, it is expected that the small swine raisers can get a higher price for their hogs.