Vegetable prices seen to stabilize this week

MANILA, Philippines — Prices of vegetables are expected to stabilize this week after a P20 per kilo increase last week brought about by heavy rains in many parts of the country, a ranking official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said yesterday.

“We expect that the retail prices of the highland vegetables will normalize. There is a movement in the retail price of vegetables every time there is a typhoon or continuous rains,” Agriculture Assistant Secretary Kristine Evangelista said in a radio interview.

Monsoon rains enhanced by Typhoon Chedeng had caused damage to many vegetable farms, prompting growers to raise the prices of their produce.

Based on DA monitoring, the highest retail price of cabbage in Metro Manila markets on Friday was P120 per kilo as against the P100 per kilo a week ago or on June 9. Carrots were also sold for P120 per kilo from only P100 seven days ago.

Evangelista added the DA is helping farmer cooperatives to supply vegetables directly to at least six markets in Metro Manila.

“We have six markets here in Quezon City, Las Piñas where our cooperatives supply their harvest so that the retailers can buy them at cheaper price and sell them at lower prices. We are hoping that once we have this in place, the farmers can supply directly to the markets,” she noted.

Evangelista added that the DA continues to monitor the wholesale price of vegetables in the trading posts to determine the difference in the retail prices.

“Hopefully, the Department of Information and Communications Technology in coordination with the Office of Assistant Secretary for inspectorate and enforcement James Layug  will have a digital dashboard in the markets and trading posts so that we can monitor the retail prices,” Evangelista said.