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THE
Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday assured that
the supply of highland vegetables remain stable and that
current prices have not gone up as the cold spell that
hit Benguet last week caused minimal damage on
vegetables.
Citing
data from the DA-attached agency, the Bureau of
Agricultural Statistics (BAS), Agriculture Secretary
Arthur C. Yap said prices of highland vegetables such as
Baguio pechay, beans, carrots, cabbage, sayote and
potato have remained stable as shown by the surveys done
by BAS in 24 wet markets across Metro Manila.
BAS
noted that the price of carrots was steady at P30 a
kilogram since January 9 up to February 3, while cabbage
now sells at P25 a kilo on February 3 from P30 a kilo on
February 1.
As of
February 3,
Baguio
pechay went back to P30 a kilo, from P40 a kilo
registered on January, while potato is now at P40 a kilo
from P45 registered on January 30.
Baguio
beans sell at P40 per kilo since January 30 while the
prices of sayote have held at P20 a kilo since January
11.
“There
should be ample supply of highland vegetables and their
prices should remain stable in Metro Manila considering
that data gathered by our regional director in the
Cordilllera Administrative Region (CAR) showed that the
cold spell which hit Benguet has had a very minimal
impact on production,” said Yap.
The
Provincial Agricultural Province (PAO) of Benguet also
allayed fears of shortage of vegetable supply from
Benguet due to the reported widespread damage caused by
the cold frost.
Lolita
Bentres, Benguet provincial agriculturist, said her
office inspected the most affected areas in barangays
Paoay, Cattubo and Bosleng in Atok; Madaymen in Kibungan;
Buguias, Natubleng and Mankayan and found that the
damage was minimal. “The damage is sporadic and minimal
as of now, like one to three heads of cabbage per row,”
she said.
Bentres
said that farm activities are now mostly in harvest and
land preparation. “Frost can cause widespread
destruction of crops during the vegetative stage,” she
said.
Bentres
said that local farmers in these areas are familiar with
the phenomenon of frost, or andap, as it is known to
Benguet farmers, and have developed indigenous measures
to reduce the damage caused by it.
Farmers
plant earlier so that when the frost comes, they are in
the harvest stage, such as it is now, she explained. She
explained that the frost-damaged cabbages shown on
television were mostly those left behind by farmers to
rot for compost as the market and trading prices fall
below their production price and transport expense will
further add to farmers’ losses.
Sen. Mar
Roxas, meanwhile, asked the Department of Agriculture
and National Price Coordinating Council to look into
reports that unscrupulous traders are taking advantage
of the frost in Benguet and Baguio City to jack up the
prices of vegetables in Metro Manila and other urban
areas.
Roxas
confirmed that prices of vegetables in some Metro Manila
markets have gone up despite assurances of the
Department of Agriculture that the so-called winter
chill experienced in
northern provinces
should not result in higher vegetable prices.
“We
call on the Department of Agriculture and Department of
Trade and Industry to check the price levels of
vegetables from Baguio City and Benguet to make sure
that unscrupulous traders are not out to profit from our
farmers’ sad predicament,” Roxas said.
Producers from Benguet and the
Mt.
Province
transport up to 2.5 million kilos of highland vegetables
to Metro Manila every day. The amount represents 65
percent of Metro Manila’s daily requirement for highland
vegetables.
Also,
Yap disclosed that the supply of highland vegetables has
remained stable due to the arrival of the produce from
Mindanao. (With Butch Fernandez) |
