MANILA, Philippines — More economists are urging greater importation in view of expensive food that jacked up the inflation rate to a two-year high of 4.2 percent year-on-year in January.
“Our priority right now is to ensure that food supply is adequate so that households affected by COVID-19 and the quarantines will not be doubly affected by the increase in food prices,” Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua, the government’s top economist, said in a statement late Friday.
Chua, who heads the state planning agency National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), said “[temporarily] allowing more importation of key agricultural products, while adhering …
Keep on reading: Economists urge more food imports to temper price spikes