Vegetable prices spike; tomatoes at P170 a kilo

MANILA, Philippines — Retail prices of vegetables continue to increase a month after the devastation from Super Typhoon Egay and enhanced monsoon rains in many areas in the country.

Tomato prices have reached as high as P170 per kilo after a slump in prices in April due to oversupply, when costs went down to as low as P3 per kilo.

Based on the monitoring of the Department of Agriculture (DA), the retail prices of tomatoes ranged

between P60 and P100 per kilo on July 20, prior to the destruction of Egay.

Egay entered the Philippine area of responsibility on July 21.

On April 2 the DA confirmed that the farmgate price of tomatoes dropped to P3 to P5 per kilo amid the oversupply, particularly in Regions 2 and 3.

Aside from tomatoes, retail prices of most vegetables also went up.

Based on the latest monitoring of the DA, the retail prices of cabbage reached as high as P180 per kilo compared to P150 per kilo a month ago; Baguio beans, P210 per kilo compared to previous level of P120 per kilo; potatoes, P150 per kilo compared to the previous price of P140; pechay Baguio, P180 per kilo compared to P140 per kilo; sayote, P110 per kilo, compared to the previous P70 per kilo; bitter gourd, P160 per kilo compared to 120; pechay Tagalog, P140 per kilo compared to P100 per kilo and eggplant, P140 per kilo, compared to previous P120 per kilo.

On the other hand, the retail prices of rice recorded an increase of P11 per kilo compared to its previous level on July 20.

Data from the DA showed that the retail prices of local regular milled rice ranged between P36 and P44 per kilo a month ago, compared to the latest prevailing price of P55 per kilo.

The retail prices of local well-milled rice a month ago ranged between P40 and P49 per kilo, compared to the latest price of P57 per kilo.

Meanwhile, the retail prices of local premium rice a month ago ranged between P42 and P49 per kilo compared to P60 per kilo; and local special rice, between P48 and P60 per kilo, compared to the latest prices of 54 to P62 per kilo.

The DA has said the damage of Egay to high value crops in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region (Region 1), Cagayan Valley (Region 2), Central Luzon (Region 3), CALABARZON (Region 4-A), MIMAROPA (Region 4-B), Western Visayas (Region 6), SOCCSKSARGEN (Region 12) and Caraga (Region 13) reached P200.8 million covering at least 1,510 hectares.