"Eat Pinoy Pork," A PAFMI Campaign

PAFMI or Philippine Feed Millers Association of the Philippines calls consumers to patronize locally produced pork in the market. PAFMI recently launched "Eat Pinoy Pork" campaign so as to raise awareness of the challenges being faced by local hog raisers and feed millers if Filipino consumers will opt for the cheap imported pork. 

"over the last two years, we were faced with challenging situations that brought our local hog raisers and feed millers to their knees. This is high time for our consumers to realize that they, too, play a crucial role in the recovery of the industry. We support the 'Eat Pinoy Pork' campaign in the hopes of encouraging our fellow Filipinos to buy and eat our local pork products," said Edwin Mapanao, PAFMI President. 

"Eat Pinoy Por" is a social media campaign spearheaded by the Pork Producers Federations of the Philippines, Inc.'s (ProPork). This was launched last September and highlights the benefits of consuming local pork. The year-long campaign also highlight the message- "Mas Malinis, Mas Masarap and Sariwa!"

"We started this campaign because we saw how our local pork industry struggled in the past months. As a leader of the 48 pork-producing affiliates in the country, it is our responsibility to protect our industry, especially our local hog raisers, farmers, and the other allied partners in the supply chain," said Engr. Rolando Tambago, President of ProPork. 

Local meat production for 2021 is expected to be at 1,140,000 MT which is lower than 1,608,000 MT last 2020. The decline in numbers is largely due to the weak pork demand and the arrival of imported pork at lower tariff rates. Another reason for the decline is low consumer spending because of the pandemic. If this continues, Tambago feared that it could discourage local hog raisers and eventually stop their operation.

"On behalf of our industry partners and allied organizations in the agricultural sector, I would like to call on our consumers to buy and eat Pinoy pork. "Eat Pinoy Pork" is more than just a campaign but a movement to support and uplift the agriculture sector in these trying times," added Tambago. "With our consumers' help, every kilo of local pork product bought from the market can make a big difference in the lives of our food producers." 

Tambago also noted that the consumers' continued support of local pork products can go a long way in empowering the supply chain value. This includes the corn farmers, feed millers, hog raisers, meat vendors, butchers, drivers, as well as veterinarians, and feed nutrition specialists. 

With the "Eat Pinoy Pork" campaign, PAFMI vows to support all measures that will improve the agriculture sector and ensure the country's food-producing capabilities. The organization is committed to work with the government in formulating inclusive policies that ensures reliability and consistency in the supply of raw materials needed for hog feeds.