DA: Contingency plans readied vs rising prices of agri goods

A Department of Agriculture (DA) executive said contingency plans are being readied against the rising prices of agricultural goods if world prices of oil will continue to shoot up. “May contingency plan tayong ginagawa diyan, to an extreme situation. Pati ang military trucks ay pwede natin gamitin kung talagang kinakapos ang private sector sa kanilang logistics and distribution system," DA Assistant Secretary Salvador Salacup said in an interview on dwIZ radio on Thursday. (We are crafting a contingency plan to address a possible extreme situation. Even military trucks can be used if the private sector will need help in their logistics and distribution system.) Aside from using military trucks to transport agricultural products, Salacup said soldiers may be tapped to help in planting crops. He said these measures are being mulled as tension in the Middle East and North Africa continue. The contingency plan will take into account the possibility of oil prices going up to as high as $180 a barrel, he said. “May extreme scenarios na po tayo sa ating mga kina-craft na action plan (We are considering extreme scenarios as we craft our action plan)," he said. Salacup said the DA will present the plan to President Benigno Simeon Aquino III when he returns from his state visits to Indonesia and Singapore. Growing food on idle land Salacup said the DA has reached an agreement with the Department of National Defense (DND) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to grow food on idle land in military camps. He indicated this will likely be implemented in military camps in Luzon to meet the food needs of residents of Mega Manila, including Central and Southern Luzon. “Kailangan ang production site malapit sa Mega Manila. Kaya ang idle lands pati ang military camps meron kaming agreement with DND and service chiefs ng AFP, kung meron silang idle lands bibigyan namin ang mga sundalo ng binhi, sila ang magpo-produce para makabawas sa total requirements ng Mega Manila," he said. (The production site has to be in Mega Manila. We have reached an agreement with DND and service chiefs of the AFP , if they have idle lands, we can give seedlings to soldiers, they can grow produce to help meet the total requirements of Mega Manila.) “Yan ang isang action plan namin, sa contingency plans in light of this crisis (This is just one of the aspects of our action plan in light of this crisis)," he added Salacup also said they are crafting a plan to stockpile staple food items. 90-day food buffer As of now, he said the country has a 90-day food buffer, based on supplies of the National Food Authority and the private sector. “We are still at a very, very safe level but then again, we should have our contingency plans ready," he said. Meetings with private sector Salacup said the government will hold regular meetings with the private sector on the matter. “Dapat kalmado tayo (We should stay calm). The government is crafting its action plans to avert any very serious troubles that this Middle East conflict is creating," he said. “The private sector will have to contribute to this action plan. We will meet them regularly. Ia-assure natin ang mamamayan available ang very important item sa ating kabuhayan itong pagkain (The private sector will have to contribute to this action plan. We will meet them regularly. We have to assure the public that food items are available)," he added. DTI: Traders not keen on hiking sugar prices After the price of sugar reached as high as P72 a kilo in the past weeks, current sugar prices are finally stabilizing at P60 per kilo, a trade official said on Thursday. Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya said their latest monitoring showed that sugar prices going down to that level from P70 to P65 per kilo. “At least ang matagal na nakapako sa P65 ay nasa P60 na ngayon (This is a welcome development from past weeks where sugar prices were stuck at P65 a kilo)," she said on dwIZ radio. Their monitoring showed that no trader was taking advantage of the situation. “Kahit ang retailers hanggang maari pakiramdam nila ayaw din nila masyadong magtaas dahil matumal. Hindi rin masyadong mabili ang basic goods this time (Retailers appear to be not keen on raising prices because business slows down when the prices are too high. Even basic goods are not selling well at this time)," she said. Maglaya said the public can report unscrupulous traders to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) hotline at 751-3330 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. – VVP, GMA News