Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar urged the public to support and buy local meat and meat products, assuring the consumers that the Department of Agriculture continues to carry out quarantine and bio-control measures to manage, contain and control African Swine Fever (ASF).

During an inspection at the Muñoz market in Quezon City, Dar said that pork supply in the market is stable, and there is more than enough to fill the demands of the coming holiday season.

“Sigurado po na may hamon at barbeque ngayong Pasko,” said.

The Secretary added that pork prices have started to normalize indicating that the consumers have started buying pork again. He appealed to the public to help the hog industry bounce back from its losses averaging at P1 billion every month in the event of ASF.

“Tangkilikin po natin ang ating mga lokal na produkto, dahil sinisiguro po namin sa DA na ligtas ang mga karneng baboy na itinitinda sa mga merkado,” he explained. ### (Adora Rodriguez, DA-AFID)