The Department of Agriculture (DA) has assured the public that there is sufficient supply of agricultural products in the country for at least the next 90 days, despite ongoing tensions in the Middle East and rising oil prices.
In an ambush interview, Agriculture Secretary Tiu-Laurel said there are currently no issues affecting the availability of key commodities, including rice, and that supply is expected to remain stable until June this year.
“I can safely say na hanggang June or even July walang issue sa supply of almost everything. Main reason is marami tayong stocks sa NFA (National Food Authority) [na nasa] almost 500,000 tons of rice,” he said.
He added: “Kasagsagan ngayon ng peak harvest season ng bigas…kakaumpisa lang hanggang Mayo ‘yan.”
Tiu-Laurel added that supply levels for other agricultural products remain strong, including corn, sugar, and onions. Vegetable production is ongoing due to the current planting and harvesting season, while pork supply remains adequate with both local production and imported stocks in cold storage.
“‘Yung vegetables natin, planting and harvesting season ngayon, tuloy-tuloy. Madami ring stocks ng pork sa mga cold storage na imported. Marami ring local population ng swine natin; [‘yung] corn natin maganda din ‘yung stock level, sugar marami ring stock, onions, harvest season din. So in general, prices should remain stable at this time,” he said.
Though the DA expects prices of agricultural goods to remain relatively stable, Tiu-Laurel acknowledged that there could be slight increases in prices, with around P2 per kilogram.
The Agriculture chief said that Malacañang has yet to respond to the DA’s recommendation to impose a price cap on rice.
The agency is also working to ensure consumers have access to more affordable options, including the rollout of PPI rice priced at P45 per kilogram.
“Kaya kami naglabas ng PPI (Planters Products Inc.) rice and Binhi, ‘yung PPI rice is at P45 per kilo, that is one way for us to give the consumers a better price. Kasi sa panahon na ‘to, maraming gustong magsamantala, at maraming nagsasamantala na,” Tiu-Laurel said.
“Dapat ang imported rice nasa P45 to P50 ‘yan [per kilo].. Anything above that is tingin ko profiteering talaga ang taking advantage,” said Tiu-Laurel. (ABS-CBN News)
