The period of maximum rain in the country is usually from June to September. That’s why the government should take its cue from the state weather bureau that has declared in June that the rainy season has started. Apart from the torrential rains that inundate low-lying cities and municipalities, strong typhoons also visit the country during the months of June to October. This is bad news for planters whose farms are in the path of strong typhoons.
Just last year, successive typhoons battered Luzon in the fourth quarter, destroying millions worth of crops, which disrupted the island’s food supply chain. Typhoon Quinta and Supertyphoon Rolly caused farmers and fishermen to incur losses amounting to more than P7 billion (See, “Damage to agriculture sector from Rolly, Quinta now at P7.6 billion,” in the BusinessMirror, November 11, 2020). Rolly, the strongest typhoon to visit the country last year, accounted for the bulk of the losses at P5 billion.
The damage sustained by the crops and fisheries subsectors was tagged as one of the major factors behind the spike in food prices in November 2020, according to the National Economic and Development Authority. In a statement issued following the release of the November inflation data in December 2020, the Neda said the acceleration of inflation was due to the 4.5-percent hike in the price index of food. This, the agency said, was due to the P15.3 billion worth of crops and other agricultural goods damaged by typhoons Ofel, Nika, Pepito, Quinta, Rolly, and Ulysses.
Food prices continued to accelerate in the succeeding months as the impact of the typhoons and the spread of African swine fever worked in tandem to put pressure on food prices. The Neda reported that the country’s overall inflation rate in January accelerated to its fastest rate in two years at 4.2 percent due to the spike in food prices. The decline in Luzon’s hog population due to ASF and the losses incurred by vegetable growers made food more expensive, particularly in urban areas like Metro Manila.
Thankfully, the country so far has not been visited this year by a strong typhoon like Rolly. We all pray and hope for good weather so our farmers can plant more crops and produce enough food for Filipinos. Apart from praying, however, policy-makers must now prepare for natural threats to the country’s food security, such as devastating typhoons.
While importing food items to plug the shortfall in domestic production is always an option, the current container crisis will also make it more difficult to beef up the country’s food supply. As ASF decimated local hog farms, the Philippines was forced to import pork, but the arrival of shipments may be delayed due to the lack of vessels as well as pandemic-related mobility restrictions (See “Longer import clearances validity sought,” in the BusinessMirror, July 23, 2021).
We hope that this early, concerned agencies have already put in place the necessary measures to ensure that the Philippines will have enough pork and other food items during the coming holidays. That’s the only way to ensure that the price of Christmas ham stays within the means of ordinary Filipinos.