Senators prod DA, DTI to prepare for food shortage, price hikes

The departments of Agriculture (DA) and Trade and Industry (DTI) should brace the country for possible spikes in food prices and supply shortages amid the social and political frenzy now sweeping the Middle East and North Africa, two senators said Monday. Emerging from the Senate agriculture and food committee’s inquiry into the government’s ability to address the twin scenarios of prices and supply, pro-administration Senator Francis Pangilinan said these are the things the country needs to be prepared for in the near term. “This hearing was conducted precisely to assess the government’s preparedness amidst the prolonged political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa, which at the moment is affecting the price of oil," Pangilinan told reporters after the hearing. In a statement, veteran Senator Edgardo Angara called upon government to act against the possibility of food crisis as a long-term effect of current Middle East crisis. “The rising price of crude oil would not just trigger but accelerate the increase of food costs worldwide. This would be felt first and foremost by those living in poverty," he said. The DA and DTI should monitor commodities prices, especially food, Pangilinan said. He likewise said that the departments must make sure that there is enough food supply in the country, especially rice. He suggested that government try stockpiling commodities ahead of a possible global crisis. "We're not alarming anybody, but we need to be prepared," he said in Filipino. "We have to be ready and contingency measures should now be crafted and put in place (to) ensure that, in the end, the crisis will be averted precisely because of timely intervention of government and other sectors," he said. Pangilinan noted that both the DA and DTI have committed to draft measures that would address possible food shortages and price hikes. Measures might not be enough Angara said he fears that emergency food security measures might not be enough to address future problems. "The average Filipino family spends about half of its income on food alone. If this expense eats up any more of the household budget, Filipinos will have to scrimp on other basic necessities," he said. Renewable energy sources and a "bolstered" agriculture industry would better address any possible food shortage or price hike, according to the veteran senator. “A way to avoid these problems is by lessening our country’s dependence on oil as a primary source of fuel, perhaps through renewable energy alternatives which are being developed by our scientists (and) by boosting our food security by strengthening the agriculture sector so we can stabilize food prices in addition to becoming more self-sufficient," he said. Bread, canned goods prices up In a separate interview Monday, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said bread prices went up with the unexpected shortage of wheat from Russia and Canada. He then said the price of canned goods increased by 3 percent to 10 percent, largely because the price of tin plates for packing preserved foods rose. Domingo said the trade department expects more products to become more expensive in the coming weeks because of higher transportation costs. The most vulnerable products to price increases are vegetables, he added. Pangilinan, for his part, said consumers should "aggressively" monitor prices of basic commodities in the market to keep unscrupulous traders from taking advantage of the situation. — VS, GMA News