The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday assured residents of the National Capital Region (NCR) that there are enough agricultural products for them to buy during the holidays.
During a virtual briefing of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease’s Task Group on Food Security, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Kristine Evangelista said the supply of these products was “sufficient” for the rest of the year.
“When you say we are sufficient, then that is enough reason” to say the prices of meat, vegetables and other products should not increase in Metro Manila, she explained in Taglish.
Arnel de Mesa, DA Region 4A director, reported that prices of meat and vegetables in his
region (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon provinces, or Calabarzon) had normalized after a series of typhoons struck the area last month.
Seven of these typhoons greatly affected Calabarzon and its crop production, according to him.
“There was a slight increase [in] the prices of meat and vegetables in Calabarzon, [but these] have recovered since then,” de Mesa said.
“We are very positive” that prices will go back to normal, Evangelista said in Taglish, adding that her department has extended interventions that would further lower the prices of commodities.
Last month, Agriculture Secretary William Dar distributed interventions worth P74.25 million to farmers in Rizal who were affected by Typhoon Ulysses (international name: Vamco).
The interventions were certified rice and hybrid-rice seeds; corn seeds; assorted vegetable seeds; fertilizers; farm inputs; and various farm equipment.
Dar also gave P176 million in rice seeds and fertilizers to Ulysses-hit farmers in Bulacan.
Based on “very good” reports that her department received, Evangelista said there was no excuse for retailers to not follow the suggested retail price (SRP) for basic necessities.
Late last month, the DA set the SRP for local rice at P50 (special), P45 (premium) and P40 (well-milled) per kilo and for imported rice at P52 (special), P45 (premium) and P36 (well-milled) per kilo.
For livestock and poultry, the SRP for beef rump was put at P380 per kilo; brisket, P300 per kilo, pork pigue/kasim, P260 per kilo; liempo, P290 per kilo; whole chicken, P140 per kilo, and chicken egg (medium), P6.50 each. For fish, the SRP of bangus was set at P160 per kilo; tilapia, P120 per kilo; imported galunggong, P140 per kilo; and alumahan, P250 per kilo.
For select vegetables, the SRP of ampalaya was put at P120 per kilo; sitaw, P100 per kilo; native pechay, P80 per kilo; Baguio pechay, P80 per kilo; squash, P30 per kilo; eggplant, P100 per kilo; tomato, P100 per kilo; and carrots, P80 per kilo.
For fruits, the SRP for calamansi was at P50 per kilo; banana (lakatan), P90 per kilo; banana (latundan), P70 per kilo; papaya, P60 per kilo; and mango (carabao), P150 per kilo.
WITH A REPORT FROM EIREENE JAIREE GOMEZ