A SENATOR has filed a resolution seeking an investigation of smuggled carrots from China.
The smuggling threatens the income and livelihood of local farmers, particularly those in Benguet province, Senator Leila M. de Lima said in Senate Resolution 924.
In a statement, she also cited the need to make local farmers more efficient in production. “It is also necessary to strengthen trade laws and agreements, protect local producers and consumers and stabilize the price of agricultural products in the local market.”
A large volume of smuggled carrots continues to flood local markets every time prices in Benguet rose, Ms. De Lima said, citing a local cooperative. The price of smuggled carrots from China was P25 a kilo compared with the P50 wholesale price in Benguet, she added.
“Such illegal practice hampers not just the livelihoods of the workers in the food and agricultural sectors, but of every Filipino in the long-run,” she said. “It cripples our efforts towards self-sufficiency in local food supplies.” — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan