The maximum suggested retail price (MRSP) on pork in Metro Manila starts today, Dec. 5, to stabilize prices and shield consumers from runaway costs during the Christmas holidays while ensuring a fair return in the pork industry value chain, the Department of Agriculture announced.
Under a new Administrative Circular No.15 Series of 2925 issued today Dec. 5, 2025 , pork liempo will be capped at PHP370 per kilo, while kasim and pigue will be priced no higher than PHP330 per kilo, effective Friday, December 5, across public and private wet markets in the National Capital Region.
“We have to restore some sanity in the retail price of pork, a favorite protein source among Filipinos that is in high demand especially during the Christmas season,” said Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr.
He stressed that the new price levels were ironed out after consultations with meat retailers and other players throughout the pork value chain.
The DA’s Agribusiness Marketing and Assistance Service had reported retail prices spiking to unusually high levels in recent weeks, with liempo reaching as much as P480 per kilo in early November, heightening consumer anxiety ahead of the peak holiday buying period.
“Those prices are absurd given how farm gate prices have fallen recently, threatening the viability of small and medium-sized hog raisers,” Secretary Tiu Laurel said.
The DA had earlier struck an agreement with hog producers to establish a minimum farm-gate price of P210 per kilo—a move aimed at protecting growers’ margins after a period of depressed buying prices that threatened to push backyard and commercial raisers into losses.
The DA chief said that Undersecretary for Livestock Danta Palabrica has recommended the MSRP after a detailed supply-and-demand assessment showed that local production is adequate to meet Metro Manila’s requirements.
This conclusion was reinforced during a November 22, 2025 online consultative meeting with pork industry stakeholders, where concerns over holiday-driven volatility were aired.
The Bantay Presyo Technical Committee, working with the livestock office and AMAS, drew up the recommended MSRPs based on historical trends in liveweight hog prices as well as wholesale and retail movements. The DA invoked a law that empowers the agency to issue suggested retail prices to stabilize markets for essential food commodities.
The circular takes effect immediately upon publication and remains in force until revoked, superseding any conflicting orders. For consumers bracing for holiday expenses—and hog growers seeking predictability—the DA’s move aims to bring order to one of the season’s most sensitive staples.
