The impact of the series of destructive typhoons that struck the Philippines in the fourth quarter of 2020 is still being felt by Filipino consumers, based on the latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The damage caused by the typhoons and the quarantine restrictions was adversely felt in urban areas, including Metro Manila. And the subsequent increases in the prices of some basic foodstuff come at a time when demand is usually slow, when consumers that splurged during the holidays are tightening their belts.
Based on the January 9 Metro Manila Price Bulletin released by the PSA, the most expensive food items in the survey conducted by the agency include meat products like pork and beef. The prevailing retail price of beef rump reached P420 per kilogram while pork liempo was at P400 per kg. Also notable were the prevailing prices of vegetables covered by the survey, the most expensive of which was amargoso or ampalaya (P180 per kg).
For beef rump and beef brisket, the retail prices were higher by P100 per kg compared to the prices listed in the survey conducted last year. The price of pork nearly doubled as pork kasim was only at P200 per kg while liempo was sold at P240 per kg last year. Among the vegetables sold in the wet markets of Metro Manila in 2020, only the prevailing price of red onion was notable at P240 per kg.
The impact of the Taal Volcano eruption and the quarantine restrictions imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19 adversely affected food production and the supply chain in general. The string of typhoons that visited the Philippines in the fourth quarter of 2020 made matters worse. The typhoons wreaked havoc on vegetable-producing areas, which explains the spikes in the prices of vegetables. Animal diseases, including African swine fever (ASF), also added undue pressure on food prices.
While there is nothing that the government can do about the weather, it can consider putting in place measures that would ease the burden on consumers when typhoons strike our food-producing areas. We agree with Monetary Board Member Bruce V. Tolentino that seasonal factors that affect vegetable prices could have been moderated by infrastructure and improvements in logistics and transportation (See, “Rate cut not likely as inflation hits 3.5%,” in the BusinessMirror, January 6, 2020). More farm-to-market roads, better highways, and investments in cold chain facilities would ensure the delivery of food to urban areas, even after the country is hit by natural disasters.
High meat prices would also continue to persist if government fails to keep animal diseases, such as ASF, at bay. The national government must continue to pump money into the livestock subsector if it is serious about fighting ASF, a highly contagious pig disease that brought China’s hog sector, the world’s top producer, to its knees. There must be no let up in the effort of government to ensure that hog raisers and poultry growers are following biosecurity protocols that would eliminate diseases in their farms.
There’s a powerful lesson we can learn from the findings of the Food and Agriculture Organization, which said that “countries that have achieved greater national and household food security generally have a track record of strong political emphasis on agriculture, careful consideration of economic incentives for agricultural production, and human and economic investments in research, extension and training.”