BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
Prices of meat in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City increased two days before Christmas, Dr. Renante Decena, provincial veterinarian, said yesterday.
As of Sunday, prices of carabao meat increased by 28 centavos per kilo, beef – 95 centavos, pork – P3.14, and chevron/goat meat by P1.87, Decena said.
He said the prevailing price of carabao meat in various markets in the province is now at P263.40 per kilo, beef – P273.74 per kilo, pork – P204.90 per kilo, and chevron or goat meat at P329.33.
PVO records also showed that broiler dressed chicken is now sold at P157.18 per kilo, or P1.98 higher than its previous price of P155.20, while the price of native dressed chicken remained stable at P253.24 per kilo.
Decena noted that the increase in the prices of some meat products was triggered by the increase in demand, especially for the holiday season. He assured that there is enough supply.
Reports from 22 slaughterhouses and five dressing plants in the province showed that up to 897,874 heads of animals have been slaughtered, as of Sunday.
Of the number, 866,586 were poultry animals, 28,275 hogs, 1,604 carabaos, 1,202 cattle heads, and the rest were horses and goats.
The current average liveweight price per kilo of cattle at six auction markets in the province is P109.19, carabao – P110.39, hog – P98.08, goat – P136.33, and chicken – P204.58.
Meanwhile, Decena said prices of eggs also slightly increased, as of Sunday. The small eggs are now sold at P6.49 per piece from P6.47 last week, medium eggs – P7.13 from P7.06, large eggs – P7.80 from P7.71, extra-large eggs – P8.45 from P8.36, and salted eggs at P12.55 from P12.54 per piece.*
