Meat retailer North Star Meat Merchants Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Department of Agriculture (DA) granting assistance to hog raisers in accessing one of the country’s biggest supermarket chains
Under the agreement, North Star will handle the butchering, blast chilling or freezing, cold storage, cold chain logistics, butchering, retailing and distribution of pork to more than 300 branches of SM Markets including Supermarket, Hypermarket and Savemore; Waltermart and Alfamart nationwide.
Anthony Ng, North Star chief executive officer, said in a statement the MOU is expected to give local farmers more confidence in maximizing production while maintaining the steady supply of pork to the market to lower the prevailing price of pork and ease inflation.
“Despite unfavorable conditions, the resilience our farmers have shown inspired us to work with the DA to provide the assistance they need on their road to recovery… We are committed to sustainably purchase, process and distribute their production to our retail channels so more local pig farmers can remain confident in providing the public with quality meat products,” Ng added.
North Star has a triple A rated and a hazard analysis critical control point-certified cold storage warehouse and meat cutting plant in Tabang, Bulacan. Its storage capacity is expected to increase to 6.4 million kilos this year to adapt with the MOU. – Jed Macapagal
