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Monsoon rain to keep vegetable prices high in 2 wks

Cai U. Ordinario

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'Pakbet' vegetables such as talong (eggplant), sitaw (string beans) and okra as well as pechay, calamansi, rootcrops such as potatoes, and white onion will cost more.

MANILA, Philippines – Vegetable traders warned the public that high vegetable prices will persist in the next two to 3 weeks due to the ongoing Southwest monsoon.

In a phone interview on Wednesday, August 8, Leah Cruz, President of the Vegetable Importers/Exporters and Vendors Association (VIEVA), said affected vegetable trade routes are causing delays in deliveries.

Cruz said those that are arriving in Manila were delivered through air cargo, which costs more.

“We expect vegetable prices to increase. Prices are expected to normalize in two to three weeks when the weather has already improved,” Cruz said.

Earlier, the government reported that inflation rate in July reached 3.2%, a 6-month high and partly influenced also by supply disruptions due to typhoon ‘Gener’ (international codename Saola).   

Which veggies?

Cruz said ‘pakbet‘ vegetables such as talong (eggplant), sitaw (string beans) and okra as well as pechay, calamansi, rootcrops such as potatoes, and white onion will cost more.

She said most of these vegetables come from Cagayan de Oro, General Santos, Davao, and Baguio where transportation is currently affected by the monsoon.

Calamansi prices, Cruz said, will remain high because of the disruption in the roll-on-roll-off ferry rides to and from Mindoro, where Metro Manila’s calamansi supply comes from.

She added that white onion prices will also be high because the Philippines has no local supply of white onions.

Supplies on the way?
 
In response, the Department of Agriculture (DA), however, assured residents that vegetable supplies are already on their way to Metro Manila.
 
In a text message sent to reporters, the DA said 24 tons of “assorted lowland vegetables” are on its way to Metro Manila today. The vegetables will come from Nueva Ecija.
 
The produce will be delivered by 8 trucks containing 3 tons of vegetables each to Marikina, Pasig, Divisoria, Balintawak, and Cavite. 
 
It can be noted that majority of the delivery areas are currently experiencing heavy flooding.

Appeal to other traders

Cruz said that while the industry is currently having supply disruption problems, VIEVA is appealing to other traders to not take advantage of the situation.

She said that increasing vegetable prices by around P30 per kilo, depending on which vegetable, should be sufficient in covering for their additional costs at this time.

“We are appealing to our fellow traders to not take advantage of consumers, especially at this time,” Cruz said. – Rappler.com


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