Farmers urge caution on food importation
The Department of Agriculture (DA) should consult stakeholders to determine the standing inventory and the extent of damage caused by typhoons before deciding whether or not to import food, a farmers’ group said.
“We would have rather the DA spokesperson consulted first the sectors and industry per commodity to know firsthand [the] extent and actual damage per commodity [and the] inventory and situation per commodity across the value chain,” Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura executive director Jayson Cainglet said in a statement on Wednesday.
Cainglet said the consultation would also help the DA determine the immediate and priority interventions as well as possible collaboration between the agency and industry stakeholders. “There is no problem to import if there is a need.
Unfortunately, the issue of high retail prices is always equated [with] the need to import,” he added. Cainglet also said the DA might want to look into the disconnect between farm-gate (selling price between farmers and traders) and retail prices amid concern over elevated retail prices.
Association of Fresh Fish Traders of the Philippines president Roderick Santos said there’s need to import fish or retail prices of fish will surge, ential price hike and stabilize food supply.
