Manila, Feb. 13 -- The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) in Negros Oriental is appealing to hog suppliers to sell their animals in this provincial capital to bring down the prices of pork, an official said Thursday.

Jaymar Vilos, PVO information officer-designate, said pork in this capital city is being sold at PHP400 or more for one kilogram (kg.) for lean meat, which is higher than the PHP320 to PHP380/kg. in other areas.

"Hog suppliers, such as in the northern towns of Negros Oriental, prefer to sell their animals to nearby Cebu City where the buying price for live pigs [is] higher," Vilos said in an interview.

With this, traders here are forced to buy the hogs at a competitive price offered by their Cebu counterparts, resulting in...