No need to import chicken, onions, says agri chief

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap does not see the need to import some vital food products despite reports of supply shortage, especially for chicken and onions.

Instead, Yap is ordering the various agencies of the Department of Agriculture to strictly monitor supply and prices of food commodities.

He cited a report by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) stating that the supply and prices of onions are stable.”

“I do not see why we have to resort to something that will only hurt local growers like allowing traders to import this commodity at this point,” he said.

In line with this, Yap has ordered plant quarantine officials to insist on a 100-percent inspection of all plant imports, whether these be fruits or vegetables, and to closely monitor stock inventories and prevailing onion prices in the market.

Yap acknowledged that there has been a slight rise in the prices of chicken, which the DA however expects to stabilize in the next few weeks.

“Our poultry growers have already loaded their farms in response to this supply discrepancy and the Philippine Association of Broiler Integrators (PABI) is positive that prices will stabilize next month,” Yap said.

In a report to Yap, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Director Malcolm Sarmiento and Philippine Fishport Development Authority (PFDA) general manager Pete Buendia noted that aquaculture-type fish such as tilapia and bangus remain at normal supply levels in the main production centers.

As for vegetables, reports from DA-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) director Cesar Rodriguez revealed a steady supply of highland produce. Rodriguez pointed out that as many as 70 trucks leave the La Trinidad Trading Post daily to service the wet markets of Mega Manila.

Each truck carries approximately 10 metric tons of assorted vegetable types such are cabbage, bell pepper, sweet peas and broccoli.

Price monitoring teams of the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Statistics and the DA-Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service also reported normal price ranges for highland type veggies except for broccoli, the cost of which jumped from P60 per kilo to P75 per kilo yesterday due to unusual rain levels in the production sites in Mountain Province.