Stable supply, prices assured

CEBU, Philippines —  The Department of Agriculture (DA) assures a stable supply of meat and onions as well as stable prices of basic commodities in the coming holiday season.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said that prices of pork meat are slowly going back to normal after the African Swine Fever (ASF) scare. Aside from that, the supply is also going back while DA already has a program in place for importation of meat for the holiday season.

“In terms sa supply ay bumabalik na po ulit sa dati at nakaprograma na naman din iyong importation natin ng karneng baboy at karneng manok, kasama na iyong baka. So, you can expect na kasapatan po ng supply natin ngayong darating na holiday season,” said De Mesa.

On the other hand, onion which saw scarcity at one time, remains stable in supply this time as well as its prices.

The price of red onions ranges from P75 to P120 per kilo and is not expected to increase anytime soon as there had been a good harvest in the last season.

For yellow and while onions, Secretary Francisco Laurel has ordered additional importation of 6,000 metric tons until December, in time for the next harvest of white onions in the last quarter of this year until the first quarter of 2025.

The price of imported white onions ranges from P100 to P120 following DA’s interventions.