The Department of Agriculture (DA) is investigating the reason behind the price increase in pork products despite the normal drop in demand during the Holy Week season.
Retailers have complained to Assistant Agriculture Secretary Rex Estoperez that their suppliers informed them of a P5 price increase on April 1.
The DA official made the statement the same day President Marcos said that inflation, or price increases, is the government's "biggest problem."
At the opening of a new Kadiwa store in Limay, Bataan, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that he was fully aware that the constant price increase is the biggest problem at the moment.
"This became a problem because we have become overly dependent on importation. We neglected agriculture for so long," the President said, citing the surge in price inflation in the country.
He stated that the government would increase the number of Kadiwa stalls (government-subsidized low-cost stores) to slow price increases.
According to Estoperez, the increase could also be attributed to small hog raisers, who account for the majority of the country's pork producers.
