THE Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) - Cebu Chapter saw a drop in sales on both raw and canned pork items sold in supermarkets following the 100-day temporary ban on the entry to Cebu of live hogs, pork-related products and byproducts from Luzon.

Robert Go, spokesperson of the PRA Cebu, told SunStar Cebu that Luzon manufactured canned pork goods are struggling even if these brands have already established good market following.

Go said stocks of canned pork items were already taken out of the market shelves. He said they expect drop in sales across all segments even the premium ones. Go added even gift baskets for Christmas will not be spared.

Go, who owns the Prince Warehouse chain, has yet to determine how the ban would impact retail sales. They have also yet to monitor how the local brands are faring amid the African swine fever scare.

Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia issued the temporary ban on Sept. 18, 2019.

The Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi) lamented the drop in the sales of pork products of their Manila-based members.

“We are still in limbo. Our members cannot still ship their goods,” said Pampi president Felix Tiukinhoy Jr.

Meantime, Go said it will be a wait-and-see stance for retailers and manufacturers.

In the latest price monitoring of the Department of Agriculture (DA) 7 conducted in major public markets in Cebu, the agency has not seen any changes in market prices for pork.

“There is no significant changes in consumer preferences as retail prices of pork are quite stable for the months of August and September. If there is a decrease of P10 now, on the following day, it will return to the regular prevailing price, which means that there is still demand for pork since consumers are still buying at the same prices,” the DA 7 said in a statement. JOB