I’VE WRITTEN about food security before, and now that the world is in an actual food crisis, I think it’s a matter worth revisiting.
The Russian-Ukraine War primarily affects global grain exports, but the coming food crisis will be due to the loss of fertilizers and food oil production. That’s how the problem will start, and I don’t know how it will affect us here.
According to the United Nations COMTRADE database, our country’s fertilizer imports were US$860.91 million during 2021. We can expect that price to only go up this year and in the years to come, and as fertilizer costs rise, we can expect rice prices to go up as well. Bread and other grain products will also rise as will imports.
The good news is that it won’t affect all food products. The Philippines produces plenty of food for local consumption and based on personal experience and people I’ve spoken to, Iloilo has access to eggs, poultry and fish.
I don’t know about pork and beef, but I doubt it. We also seem to get a lot of rice, corn and vegetables, but their production will presumably weaken as a result of the high global fertilizer prices.
Local root crops may function as alternatives to usual stables, which is another positive thing.
Regardless, the situation with food security should be one of the biggest priorities of the new Marcos Administration. Failure to do so can undermine the stability of the country. A good example is Sri Lanka, which is now broke and has to ration food and energy.
Food expenditure remains a large chunk of the average Filipino’s household spending (nearly 41% according to the PSA – 2018), and it will rise in the following months./PN
