Vet: Meat prices in Negros Occidental up
By Adrian P. Nemes III
Prevailing price of dressed broiler chicken is P181 per kilo, which is P12 higher than the previous P169 per kilo.
Pork increased by P8 as its price is now at P231 per kilo from P223 per kilo.
For carabeef (carabao meat), it is currently sold at P276 per kilo or P1 higher from its previous cost of P274 per kilo.
The price of chevon (goat meat) also rose to almost P1. The product is now sold at P335.63 per kilo from the previous P334.79 per kilo.
While most of the meat prices in the province increased, the cost of beef products and native chicken remained steady at P289 and P256.49 per kilo, respectively.
Provincial veterinarian Renante Decena attributed the hike to higher transport cost and drop in supply of most meat products due to the onslaught of Typhoon Odette.
Decena said that the mortality of broiler chicken alone reached 1.3 million heads, comprising 25 percent of the animal’s standing population in the entire province.
Another reason was the low storage capacity due to power outages causing most of the meat supplies to perish, he added.
In addition, the provincial veterinarian said, the prices of an ice block ranges from P200 to P700 while most of the eggs due for harvest were also destroyed by the typhoon.
