Vegetable, meat prices surged in January

Prices of agricultural commodities in the market continued to climb as Filipinos enter the new year, adding pressure on household budgets amid the uncertainty caused by the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

The Department of Agriculture’s (DA) price watch showed increases in vegetable and meat prices by as much as 66 percent from last month as supplies across all food commodities have tightened for several reasons.

Some of the factors being looked into by the DA are the ongoing lean season for vegetables, the dwindling number of hog raisers due to the persistence of the African Swine Fever and the number of poultry raisers who have discontinued production after being discouraged by low prices during the lockdowns last year.

For instance, a kilo of red onion that used to be sold at an average of P120 last month soared to P200 a kilo this week. Prices of chili also continued to hover between P600 and P800 a kilo while the price of whole chicken increased to P170 from P160 the previous month.

DA Assistant Secretary for Agribusiness Kristine Evangelista said prices might not stabilize until March or when the harvest season was expected to begin—another bad news for consumers whose incomes have been hurt by the COVID-19 crisis.

To tame these surges, Evangelista said the DA was looking to strengthen Mindanao’s production. It has been a strategy of the government to source food supplies from Visayas and Mindanao to cover consumption in congested Metro Manila, but then bringing it to the metropolis would entail additional transport and logistical costs.

In all, the lack of cold-storage facilities is at the root of many of the industry’s problems. This has made it difficult for the government to stabilize prices during the off-season and has made producers vulnerable to traders.

“I still believe strengthening production is very crucial as well as providing cold-storage… if you look at the cropping calendar there are months wherein we experience oversupply,” Evangelista said. “Addressing the issue is not just adjusting the SRP (suggested retail price) but addressing the need to ensure a stable supply throughout the year.”

For now, consumers have been urged to buy their produce at the nearest Kadiwa store where the prices of farm goods are considerably lower than prices in the markets. There are more than 100 Kadiwa outlets nationwide, situated in malls, gas stations and government agencies. INQ