DA readies new rules on garlic importation

The Department of Agriculture is coming up with import rules that will not be prone to abuse while enabling farmers to benefit from the garlic trade amid an apparent shortage.

MANILA, Philippines–The Department of Agriculture (DA) is coming up with import rules that will not be prone to abuse while enabling farmers to benefit from the garlic trade amid an apparent shortage.

“We want to make sure that what happened to rice import permits will not be repeated with garlic,” Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said in a briefing on Monday. He was referring to the abuse of the government policy that encouraged farmers’ cooperatives to apply for permits to import milled rice.

A series of hearings at the Senate revealed that deep-pocketed financiers funded farmers’ groups that would otherwise have not qualified to bring in shipments. This practice was linked to the practices of unscrupulous traders, as well as to rice smuggling.

“We want to require farmers groups that will apply for garlic import permits to show proof of financial capacity (to engage in trade),” Alcala said.

“This is an additional requirement that we also plan to impose on traders themselves,” he added.

The DA is considering a second—and possibly third—batch of garlic importation to bridge a supply gap that has helped retail prices to spike to more than P300 a kilo.

According to the office of the DA’s high-value crops development program, the department is considering a proposal from the National Garlic Action Team, which has government and private representatives, for the approval of 932 applications for permits to import garlic.