DA: Price hike in select vegetables to be tempered this week

THE DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday assured the public that spiking prices of select vegetables will be tempered starting this week.

“Ang good news dito as I mentioned, nag-start nang mag-harvest ngayon iyong Southern Tagalog Region. And ine-expect natin, unti-unti nang bababa iyong presyo (The good news here, as I mentioned, is the harvest in the Southern Tagalog Region has already started. And we are expecting that the prices will drop) in the coming days,” DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in an interview, referring to the harvest of tomatoes.

As of Tuesday, the prices of tomatoes in Metro Manila range from PHP140 to PHP220 per kilogram, higher than the price range two weeks ago set at PHP90/kg. to PHP160/kg.

Other agricultural products with increasing prices were carrots ranging from PHP100/kg. to PHP180/kg., eggplant ranging from PHP60/kg. to PHP120/kg., and bell pepper set at PHP200/kg. to PHP350/kg., among others.

De Mesa added that spiking prices would be immediately reversed considering the faster cycle in vegetable production.

“Iyong presyo ng gulay parating pabagu-bago iyan, iyong presyong nakataas (the prices of vegetables really vary, and the increasing prices), they are very temporary at kapag bumalik uli iyong malaking harvest, bababa uli iyan (and when the huge harvest comes in, it will also drop),” he added.

De Mesa attributed the spiking prices to the harvest delay due to the changing season, not to mention the impacts of the El Niño phenomenon and Typhoon Aghon.

Increasing fuel prices may have also posed an impact on the farmers’ transportation cost, especially in agricultural products being sourced from far areas like Benguet, Baguio, and Southern Tagalog, he added.

“May additional na expenses kapag mahal ang gasolina. Of course, ang lalaki ng increases, PHP1 to PHP2 di ba (There’s an additional expense when the fuel prices increase. Of course, there's a huge increase, it’s around PHP1 to PHP2 right?) So, that would also be the reason for the increase,” De Mesa said.

For low-land vegetables, products are sourced from Southern Tagalog, Central Luzon, Cagayan Valley, and Ilocos Region; while highland vegetables usually come from La Trinidad, Cordillera, and Southern Tagalog.

Earlier, the DA said a total of PHP510.447 million in assistance will be given to 160,000 crop, livestock, and poultry farmers who own or rent machinery, including PHP3,000 worth of fuel subsidies for each farmer.

The DA eyes its distribution in August once the average monthly price of Dubai crude oil reaches USD80 per barrel, as per the requirement set under the 2024 General Appropriations Act. (Stephanie Sevillano)