The region accounts for 9.85 percent of the total national production and ranks third among all other regions, Albert R.T. Lim Jr., president of the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc., said during his presentation yesterday at the 1st Negros Occidental Hog Congress at the Panaad Park Stadium in Bacolod City.

Central Luzon, which produced 1.805 million heads or 13.88 percent of the country's swine population as of the start of 2006, is the number one swine-producing region. It is followed by CALABARZON, at 1.634 million, or 12.57 percent.

Figures show that as of Jan. 1, 2006, Western Visayas has a swine population 1.281 million, including 1.11 million from backyard and 171,060 from commercial raisers. According to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, the region's swine population increased 11. 23 percent - from 1.152 million in Jan. 1, 2005 to 1.281 million after a year.

Source: Daily Star