By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Monday that it’s imposing a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported garlic as market prices remain stubbornly high.
“After all, what we would like is to repair this through talks, so we shouldn’t have to place an MSRP (on garlic). But in the event that they don’t need to follow, we’d put an MSRP (on garlic),” Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. told reporters after inspecting a public market in Quezon City.
The outcomes of the market monitoring on Monday showed that prices of agricultural products comparable to rice, pork, and fish are taking place, but prices of garlic remain elevated.
“The one thing that we should not completely happy with is the value of garlic. It’s a bit expensive because it is being sold at P140-P150 a kilo,” Mr. Laurel said.
“The DA is attempting to work out how one can address that and lower its price since it is imported. Ninety-five percent of the garlic in our markets is imported, so we may have to regulate that,” he added.
In keeping with the Agriculture secretary, importers are selling garlic at P110 per kilo, despite the fact that the landed cost is at P80 per kilo.
“The seller said they bought (garlic) for P110 per kilo. So, in the event that they sell it at P140, they are going to have a P30 profit. We’ll check if that P30 per kilo is dear or not, but I believe it’s fair,” he said.
“However the garlic importers, their cost is simply P80 a kilo, but they sell it for P110 a kilo. And that’s in the event that they are declaring the proper values, but I do know that they generally undervalue, so perhaps their margin is P40-P50 per kilo. I believe that is simply too much,” he added.
Mr. Laurel said that the DA is just compiling the ultimate figures before calling for a gathering with importers. Nevertheless, he said he thinks garlic should only be sold at P100-P110 per kilo.
Hunted for comment, Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) Executive Director Jayson H. Cainglet said that only 5% of garlic is locally produced, which is why the group welcomes the proposal to impose MSRP on imported garlic.
“The landed cost of garlic is between P70 and P80 per kilo only, so the retail price shouldn’t exceed P130-140 per kilo,” he said in a Viber message.
“If its price exceeds P150 per kilo, it is obvious that there’s profiteering along the worth chain of imported garlic,” he added.
Nevertheless, Mr. Cainglet said the federal government has very limited options for short-term interventions, as most garlic is imported.
“One long-term intervention may very well be the revival of the local garlic industry so that we are going to have more control over all the supply chain,” he said.
Federation of Free Farmers National Director Raul Q. Montemayor said there’s rampant profiteering in garlic imports, same as with rice, pork, and other commodities.
“Garlic is being brought into the country at a declared landed price of only P25 per kilo. Its real landed price is about P60 per kilo, and importers declare a lower cost in order that they find yourself paying lower tariffs,” he said in a Viber message.
“Even then, the retail price of garlic currently is about P140 per kilo, and sometimes reaches P200 per kilo, indicating huge profit margins. The MSRP may help, but we could have to look for added ways to regulate profiteering,” he added.
Mr. Montemayor said the federal government could use the Price Act or the Anti-Economic Sabotage Law to run after profiteers.
“The longer-term goal is to assist our local farmers improve their productivity and output in order that they will supply more garlic at a competitive price,” he added.
However, Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food, Inc. (PCAFI) President Danilo V. Fausto said that there is no such thing as a “unreasonable movement of costs of garlic which requires government intervention.”
“Garlic and onions are of comparable nature in the way of production and price movement. One thing that is essential is that we’d like to encourage more farmers to plant garlic to extend supply,” he said in a Viber message.
For his part, Mr. Laurel said garlic needs temperate weather, which makes it difficult to cultivate garlic within the country.
“Secondly, our planting material, our traditional garlic variety, is small but has a unique taste. Nobody can beat China within the production of garlic in the entire world, so even Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Taiwan buy from them,” he said.
Mr. Laurel said the DA can also be using Korean technology that will boost production to 12-15 tons of garlic per hectare. Within the Philippines, farmers produce only about one to 2 tons of garlic per hectare.
Apart from garlic, Mr. Laurel said that the DA can also be monitoring the value of chicken and eggs to see if there’s a must impose a price cap.
The DA can also be maintaining the P45 MSRP on rice to make sure that the farmers may have a profit.
“Actually, our initial idea is to lower it further to P42, but with what is occurring with our price within the harvest season, it’s taking place,” he said. “So now, I believe it’s prudent that we are going to stop at MSRP P45 for the following two months until the harvest season ends.”
