00:00More than 250 barangays in the country have cases of African swine fever.
00:05Retailers are worried that the prices might go up if the supply of pork goes down.
00:10And that's what Bernadette Reyes is talking about.
00:14Pork is rare in the menu of this restaurant in Quezon City.
00:18More people order beef or chicken.
00:21Now, the number of cases of African swine fever is increasing.
00:25You need to have a medical record to be sure that you won't get sick.
00:33It's also rare for Juliette's family to eat pork, even though she orders suki.
00:40I'm the only one who buys meat here.
00:43According to the Department of Agriculture,
00:45251 barangays in the country have active cases of African swine fever,
00:49from 150 cases last July.
00:5310% of the population of pork in the country comes from Batangas.
00:57But as of now, 7 towns and 1 village in Batangas have been hit by the ASF.
01:02That's why other pork retailers are buying from faraway places.
01:08Federito, for example, in Quezon City, is buying from pork vendors.
01:14Yesterday, we didn't have enough pork.
01:15Yesterday, we didn't have enough cargo.
01:17There were only 40 pieces.
01:19Federito is worried that the price of pork might go up if the supply runs out.
01:25It will suddenly go up if there's no more pork here.
01:29As of now, there is no reason for the Association of Agricultural Industries or SINAG to raise the price.
01:35The farmgate price in Batangas went down to P170 to P180 per kilo,
01:41while it remained at P190 to P195 per kilo in other provinces.
01:47For this year, we haven't seen any problems.
01:50If the ASF hits us, we will be blamed by next year.
01:55But so far, we haven't seen any problems up to December.
02:01To avoid further spread of the ASF,
02:04the Department of Agriculture will set up livestock checkpoints in Luzon while waiting for vaccines from the ASF.
02:11Agriculture Secretary Francisco Chularel Jr. assured that there is a fund for the purchase of vaccines.
02:17There is also an emergency fund to help those who will be hit by hog racers.
02:21For GMA Integrated News, Bernadette Reyes, for 24 Hours.
02:41For GMA Integrated News, Bernadette Reyes, for 24 Hours.
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