8 November 2024
As the Christmas season approaches, the Department of Agriculture (DA) assured on Friday, Nov. 8, that the supply of agricultural products is stable, with imports supplementing local production to meet the country’s needs.
“Walang shortage ng supply kasi nababalanse ng importation (There is no supply shortage because imports help balance it,” Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa, the spokesperson of the DA, said when asked if the supply of agricultural products is enough for the upcoming holiday season.
He noted that vegetable production in the country is ample.
“Sobra yung production natin sa highland vegetables, ‘yung lowland vegetable ang medyo ang may kaunting problema (We have surplus production in highland vegetables, but there is a bit of an issue with lowland vegetables),” De Mesa said, saying the production of lowland vegetables was badly affected by the typhoons,
Meanwhile, De Mesa said that while African Swine Fever (ASF) poses challenges to pork supply, the holiday season requirements for both pork and chicken have already been planned for.
“Kung ano man ang pagkukulang, na-settle na nila ‘yan. Na-take into consideration na for the rest of the holiday season. So we don't see any concern (Any shortfall has already been settled and taken into consideration for the rest of the holiday season, so we don’t see any issues),” he went on.
Citing the DA’s latest production data, De Mesa noted that chicken and livestock are “saving” the portion of the production value.
“Sa manok, wala tayong ine-expect na pagtaas kasi maganda ‘yung ating production (For chicken, we don’t expect any price increase because our production is strong).”
The DA spokesperson said the country’s sugar supply is still enough, saying there is “no major movement” on sugar.
So far, he said that the Philippines still has no plan to import sugar.
With global rice prices declining, the DA expressed optimism that local prices of this staple will also drop.
Metro retailers vow affordable rice
On Friday, Nov. 8, rice retailers from major markets in Metro Manila agreed to start selling more affordably priced regular and well-milled rice beginning next week.
Market vendors made this commitment during a consultative meeting held last week by DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., which aimed to investigate why retail rice prices have not reflected the significant reduction in rice tariffs.
In a prior meeting, rice importers and traders told Undersecretary for Operations Roger Navarro that they had lowered prices to approximately P38 per kilo. They pointed to the markups imposed by rice retailers as the reason for the continued high retail prices.
The DA reported that rice retailers from major markets in Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan City, Pasig City, Las Piñas City, Taguig City, and Pasay City told DA officials that a price markup of ₱3 to ₱5 per kilo would give them a sufficient profit margin.
“They have agreed to sell well-milled rice for around P42 per kilo after we appealed to their sense of patriotism. We asked them to help ease the burden on the poor by providing more affordable rice,” Navarro stated.
Since the tariff reduction in July, nearly 1.7 million metric tons of imported rice have entered the country, according to data from the Bureau of Customs as of the first week of November.
In an effort to reduce rice prices, President Marcos issued Executive Order No. 62, which lowered the import tax on rice from 35 percent to 15 percent, effective July 8. High rice prices have a significant impact on the consumer basket, contributing to inflation.
Per the Philippine Statistics Authority, the average Filipino household spends approximately ₱9 of every ₱100 on rice, with this amount doubling to ₱18 for poorer families.