Mayor Pedro Acharon Jr. said he has signed the resolution passed recently by the city council that "expressed desire" to avail of the DA grant for the development of a class "AA" abattoir with refrigerated storage facility.
"This will facilitate the slaughter, freezing and packaging of the emerging pork-in-a-box products for local and domestic markets," he said.
The pork-in-a-box project would transport meat in boxes rather than live animals. This was launched last year by the DA and swine industry groups.
The National Meat Inspection Services said the scheme would be linked to the cold chain system, and would addresses animal health and waste management concerns.
Acharon said the scheme would help improve the local livestock industry saying "the rising awareness of the people for a healthier lifestyle will contribute to the demand for frozen meat products."
The city, which is ranked among the top swine producers in the country, ships out more than 180,000 heads of livestock and around five million kilos of frozen meat every month.
"We've been assisting our local livestock industry technically to enable them to provide local and national markets of its livestock requirements," he said.
Final negotiations were now being conducted for the exportation of locally-produced frozen por
k products to Singapore.
The city has remained a top source of livestock and swine as it continued to be free from the deadly foot and mouth disease (FMD) and avian or bird flu.
To complement its FMD control program, the local government has established foot baths and conducted regular disinfection of passenger and cargo vessels, haulers and garbage bin at the Makar port here. (Allen Estabillo / MindaNews)
