MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Agriculture (DA) is scrambling to secure vegetable products from the Visayas and Mindanao to supply Metro Manila’s needs as heavy damage to roads and bridges in the wake of the recent storms has severely constricted the delivery of produce from Central and northern Luzon.
Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap told reporters that upland vegetables grown in Benguet, the Cordillera and Mountain Province could not reach Metro Manila because landslides and floods had made major roads virtually impassable.
He also noted that lowland vegetable producers in Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Laguna and Cavite had also been hit hard by the storms and floods.
Together, the areas supply about 70 percent of Metro Manila’s vegetable needs.
As a result of the delivery problems, the prices of vegetables have dramatically risen, sometimes by as much as five times.
In its effort to replenish Metro Manila’s supply, the DA has contracted 45 metric tons (MT) of vegetable deliveries from the Visayas and Mindanao.
“Prices are good in Metro Manila so suppliers outside of the area are encouraged to deliver here,” Yap said.
DA-accredited suppliers in Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon belonging to the North Mindanao Vegetable Association would be delivering 10 MT of vegetable within two days, Yap said.
Producers in Davao City and Davao del Sur are shipping 10 MT, those in General Santos City and South Cotabato, 5 MT and suppliers in Cebu, 5 MT. Yap said producers in Quezon province would deliver 15 MT.
Aside from the 45 MT of vegetables expected to be delivered within the week, Yap said, suppliers in Nueva Vizcaya had also committed to make available an additional 30 MT of vegetables every day.
However, Yap warned, vegetables from the Visayas and Mindanao might cost slightly higher due to shipping costs.
“We know that this is not a normal situation. There really is difficulty in getting the deliveries, so whoever has the supply can command good prices. But the prices should not be unreasonably high,” Yap said.
He also said that the DA “is not ready to recommend a price ceiling.”
Despite the supply constraints, Yap said, the government was not yet importing vegetables.
“We have not implemented anything on importation because we can still pull stocks from other local sources,” Yap said.
He said deliveries could return to normal in one to two weeks.
No comments:
Post a Comment