DA allows small imports to ease price pressures
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has authorized the importation of onions, carrots and broccoli in small quantities to alleviate rising food prices due to weather disturbances.
On the sidelines of the 47th Meeting of the Asean Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DA has observed significant price spikes in certain agricultural goods based on their recent monitoring.
Tiu Laurel said the price of red onion, for instance, increased to as much as P140 to P160 per kilogram (kg) about one or two weeks ago, “which is kind of too much.”
“I have a feeling that the remaining local are being held back a bit [to maximize profits], so that’s why I ordered silently to import last week,” Tiu Laurel said.
“We are now addressing that and hopefully inflation will stabilize … as we have already ordered the importation of white onions, red onions, carrots, broccoli to augment the supply disruption due to storms, rains and floods,” he said.
The agriculture chief said he allowed the entry of 3,000 to 5,000 metric tons (MT) of red onions until about one month before the harvest season for this commodity starts in February.
As for carrots, Tiu Laurel said the DA allowed the importation of “a few hundred tons” to assess the situation, as prices have surged as well. These can come from China and the Netherlands.
“The importation of carrots from China is done on a trial basis. It is the first time we have allowed it. Carrots from New Zealand and Australia have been allowed for a long time, but prices are quite high,” he told reporters.
As of Friday, the farm sector incurred P2.93 billion in losses, according to the DA’s latest bulletin on the southwest monsoon (“habagat”) and tropical cyclones Mirasol, Nando and Opong.
The weather disturbances damaged 213,164 MT of agricultural produce in 84,267 hectares of land, mostly rice and high-value crops.
Per the DA’s price monitoring of Metro Manila markets, carrot retailed from P200 to P300 per kg as of Sept. 30, higher than last year’s P80-P160 per kg.
