Pinoyagribusiness

One of the main problems I see as a hog producer in the Philippines is,the high cost of production,mainly the feed cost involved.Every year the cost of feed will rise,that is almost a given,the cost of production rises but the price per kilo liveweight stays about the same or lower,getting harder and harder to squeeze out some profit(s) from ones operation.With the major proscessors importing from abroad,new hog operations starting up everyday,there is always the slight chance of over supply.I have seen this happen in North America,over supply,the price drops and inventories of stock lower,the weaker producers leave,the stronger ones find a way to hang on until the market picks up again.The big fish eat the little fish.I think the key is to be able to lower ones feed cost(s) some how.

mikey  Region 7

how can we lower the feed cost? corn now is use for fuel  . maybe we all hog farmer unite and increase our prices this is the best solution in order to survive

Slyfox,right on.we do need to unite,the hog producers of the Philippines need to get our message out that the hight cost(s) of operating our farms is killing us.Having a forum like this to brain storm ideas is a good start,putting pressure on the Philippine Govt. is another,long term plans would be the exporting of our product,the major problem here is the rateing of the processing plant,AAA the best followed by AA,hog processing plants here in North America kill thousands of hogs per shift.The cost(s) of equipement for processing is expensive,may be good quality used equipement is a option.
Proud Independant Region 7
mikey

I think a good long time goal is exporting,then one does not have to rely on the home market place,more production as more product is exported.The problem alot of us are facing is the rising cost of production mainly the feed cost involved in such a business.When we are able to lower our production costs and become more price competative in the world market place we should be able to compete for a share in the market place.My personal opinion only:
Independant Producer Region 7
mikey

Exporting is the key in balancing the over supply of pigs in the Philippines. The problem in our country is supply is ever increasing but demand is very volatile.

ANother possible area is propagation of R&D. There are so much research conducted by the government about alternative feed. The main problem is they spent much on research and never on the development.

(lol), quote of the month Doc.

Doc,oversupply,thats the last thing Mr Hog and I need,knew 10 million hogs per year for a country that has little to no exports was too good to be true.Atleast in the back of my mind always thought there might be a chance that one would have to cull their numbers,seen it all before.
mikey

Filipino eat pork a lot one evidence is that heart attack is in the top 10 killer of pinoy.

Also the Philippines is within the top 10 in the world in terms of sow population.

genie_ps
i have read a lot in the internet, journals about researches saying this is a good substitute for this or for that.  The government must realize that we are not a dumb driving  cattle that if they release a study we will just follow it blindly.  They are the ones who must set an example. They must create pet/demo projects so people could see and realize the benefit of this study.

Doc, good to hear we are in the top 10 as sow producers,still believe we need a second market,exporting would really help unload our numbers.Look at Canada,if Canada had no export markets,there would not be the numbers being produced,our own in country market place could not support the numbers.Korea,China, etc. are all pork eating nations,the pork producers of the Philippines need Govts. to help us secure these markets.Thinking of planting some value added crops on the land ,the sale of the crops would help pay for the production of the hogs,am happy that the wife and I have goats,cattle,turkeys as a back up in case the bottom falls out of the pork market.
Independant Producer Region 7
mikey

is your goats,cattle,turkeys also inside the compound of your pigs?

True, Doc,  I cannot agree with you more.

While there are issues like .5M being given to some governors and congressmen (allegedly bribes), the government on the otherhand insists we do not have extra money for ad hoc R&D's and subsidies for farmers.   Many small farmers always end up losing the not so sufficient capital because of inadequate technical assistance.  Farmers also lack the market protection that is always being threatened by meat smugglers and importers everytime our local media sensationalize issues like swine flu.  Though it's alright to publicize it for our awareness and prevention, I think it would be of much help if they do their job by helping us prevent it and intensifying police work so as not to spread double dead meat reaching our makets.

Mikey, we've seen better days in terms of pricing.  Price wise, I doubt if we would be competitive enough against other countries.  Prices of feeds and increasing overheads tend to push the farm gate price.  Before we seek that Govt help in securing those markets, I think farmers should seek their true technical assistance and subsidies first to pull our costs/overhead down so as to enable us pulldown our farm gate price as well.   Then, we would be competitive enough to get a chunk of the export markets.

The hogs are in 2 different locations,the goats and turkeys another location and the cattle is at my father in laws,we have 4 locations spread over the land some of which we own and some is owned by my wifes family.Hog producers here in North America are having a tough time themselves,lucky for us,exports help to unload supply,the problem I see in the Philippines is,farming has no control,anything goes,anyone can set up any kind of farm they want and the Govt. could care less,most countries have a quota system,one buys a quota from the Govt. and is limited to how much one can produce.I agree our production cost are high,related back to the feed cost,how one can lower their production cost,I have no answers,another problem is the white hogs are a high maintance animal,not really suited to tropical conditions.The native hog is a much lower maintance animal to care for,better suited to tropical conditions,some of the factory hog farms in North American grow their own feed,may be this is something to look at,forums like this,help to brain storm ideas and may be just maybe we can come up with something useful to help us all out of this mess we seem to be in.I have red that in about 20 years the Philippine Govt. knows food will be an important resource to feed the masses,in 20 years I will be an old man lol.Food will be an important resource down the road,if we can hang on that long is another question,We are all in this together.
Good Farming Boys/Girls
Independant Producer Region 7:
mikey

(lol)... how old r u mikey?  Yup, the future seems bleak.  I see very dim light at the end of the tunnel.  Right now it's deeply rooted with the government agri policies.  Perhaps, We need a discerning politician, a mikey perhaps.  kidding (lol).

Genie Ps:well I am over 50,under 60 lol.Slyfox made a good comment about corn being grown for fuel,this adds to our problems.I have noticed about the prices Slyfox posted,they seem to be all over the place,different regions,different prices,makes no sense to me,usually prices here uniform,producers can get about the same no matter  what part of the country one produces.I agree the Philippine Agri. Dept. needs to take on a much more active role,its too much like a wild west show.Boys one thing to keep in mind is,if the retail price of pork is too expensive for the customer(s) to buy,over supply in the markerplace will drive down the price at the farmgate level.Within the month we should see how were doing,prices up or down,will be interesting.Some farms have a hedge,they produce more than one product line,if one is not doing well,they put more effort into the one that is doing better,vise a versa.Food will become very important in the future,as the masses expand,someone has to feed them.The Chinese are pumping money into farming in the Philippines,do they know something we do not.
Good Farming Boys/Girls:
mikey

philippine is not yet oversupply of pig. every year we are importing pork meat. the problem here is that they (govt & trader) over import. do you know how many heads of hog in 181 million metric tons? sometimes umaabot pa yan 500 million metric tons.  govt & traders are really killing  us. every year we keep complaining but nobody care that why our price will go down when there's an import of carabeef, kangkaroo, pork , chicken, beef and etc........    only in the philippines

WE ALSO IMPORT HOSPITAL GARBAGE FROM JAPAN   :-(



do you want know what's carabeef, kangkaroo, pork , chicken, beef import price? it 50% cheaper than home grown. 

Slyfox I just dont get it how can it be 50 cheaper?Thats coruption at the finest with your gov,only the people can fix that problem.

here an example if the pork meat from korea is rejected by US due to e coli contaminated. korean owner will just sell it to philippines at a cheaper price instead of burning it. everything rejected from other country they sell it to philippines :(


last year i saw Mott's Apple Juice label it FOR PHILIPPINE ONLY . why???????????????????????   even imported can goods

Wow that really sucks phills is just a dumping ground then?People dont die or get sick?if so people dont care?as long as its cheap?

60 to 70% of philippine people are at poverty level

The Slyfox,in some sort of federation,must be one of the big boys.Every country dumps into other countries.Canada dumps into the USA.The USA dumps into Canada.We all dump into Mexico.Nothing new.The poor guy earning 50-100 pesos per day can barley afford rice for the month,let alone meat for his family,cheap products help to ease some of the pressures.I see this first hand with our caretakers,I as a outsider (foreigner) married to a Philippine girl,must follow the wage structure in our area.Its the way it is.We do pay all the expensives,food,electric bills and provide housing,2 care packages arrive with clothing,shoes,candies and supplies every year.If one can lower feed expensives,exporting is still an option,proper processing plants will need to be built first,am sure we could compete against other countries,we can hold own in a open marketplace if given a chance.Exporting helps to pick up the slack of supply.
Independant Producer Region 7:
mikey

all third world countries is a dumping ground bad quality food

Some die, some get sick. They would rather eat and die later rather than die and never eat again. sad reality.

Doc, that is bad news,not only for the people, but for the livestock industry as a whole as bad foodstuffs can cause an outbreak of diseases especially hogs in country,just look at what happened to England some years back,and in Canada in the 60s,imported meat products are suspect,in both cases.We do our best to keep our caretakers happy,one as an outsider must respect the local ways on how things are done.Who am I to change the way things are done at our place,the business people there want me to mind my own business,and keep on the program or I will only make them upset and when we return it may be a little uncomfortable for us.You what I mean.
Good Day Doc,
mikey;independant producer region 7

I can't elaborate any better than that Doc.   

Farmers producing less than 10 slaughter hogs per year make the smallest profit per unit of output,and are therefore expected to leave the market when better opportunies arise.Smallholders producing 20-40 slaughter hogs per year,however,are as cost-efficent at the farm level as larger-scale industrial farms.These smallholders are under threat of being forced out of the sector because of high market transaction costs.Policies supporting smallholder market participation,including the promotion of institutional arrangements linking the various stakeholders in the pork production chain to the fast growing mainstream markets for pork,are therefore crucial to capitalize on the propoor oppuntunties offered by the growing domestic pork market.Having a stable Govt. would do the country good as a hold.Foreign investors become uneasy when talk of coup or attempted coups take place,without foreign capital investing into the ecomony of the Philippines the country will remain the same at present levels,Money flows at the speed of light in this new world economy.The country can only progress with the help and technology of the outside world.The choice is yours.Makes no difference to me where I invest my capital.
mikey Region 7

Mikey some very good points indeed if theres a new gov in the next little while it maybe a good thing lets just hope everybody will like the new presidant.Also I hope the new gov will be tuff on imported pork from other countrys.

It seems to me that 2007 was a good year in the hog business,even at our remote location in Region#7,we made money.Hogs are leading the way in livestock production with a 3.9% growth,will be interesting to see what the growth will be for 2008.Corn had a higher value also,not good for livestock producers as this cuts into our profit margin.Natutral disasters,typhoons etc.all must be accounted for as this hurts us producers.I am sure our production cost(s) will rise in 2008,feed,medicine,electric etc,at this point do not see a threat from imported meat products.The key is to watch the market place and if one has the stocks to unload when prices are higher,there seems to be 2 times in a given year when hog prices spike upwards,having hogs in inventory gives a producer a better chance.The problem with this is,most producers cannot wait,hogs eat alot of food and take up valuable space.Its a fine line hog producers must walk,so far the future looks bright for those willing to take a chance in the Hog Business.
GOOD FARMING TO ALL IN 2008
mikey