Laurel pushing for lower food freight costs

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s prevailing freight rates on agricultural shipments must be “discounted” to keep food prices nationwide “affordable,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said. Laurel said that he would propose to the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to implement a “discounted” freight rate for agricultural and food products. The agriculture chief is set to meet PPA general manager Jay Santiago as a follow-up to the initial engagement between the PPA and the Department of Agriculture (DA) last month. The DA said that Laurel and Santiago met last week to work on a partnership that would aid in bringing down food prices nationwide. The DA also said that the forthcoming meeting was driven by the recent complaints raised by highland vegetable farmers and traders regarding the movement of agricultural goods, both by land and sea.

“The agri chief told farmers that the PPA has pointed out a law that requires shipping companies to reserve at least 25 percent of their cargo space to transport agricultural food products,” the DA said. “He said agricultural freight rates should also be at a discounted rate to keep food prices affordable,” it added. Laurel vowed to ensure that existing shipping rules and regulations that make food affordable to the public are “strictly implemented.” “We will monitor this to ensure that they are strictly implemented. We will again meet with PPA GM Jay (Santiago) on how to effectively implement these,” he said. In an earlier statement, Santiago said the DA and the PPA seek to create “the best port and agricultural infrastructure to develop efficient logistics and speed up the delivery and distribution of products through mechanization and modernization.”