DA: Vegetable prices to go back to 'normal' within the week

If no cyclone will hit Northern Luzon this week, the prices of vegetables, which went up due to typhoons "Pedring" (Nesat) and "Quiel" (Nalgae), are expected to go back to their normal ranges this week, a Department of Agriculture (DA) official said. In an interview on dwIZ radio, DA Assistant Secretary Salvador Salacup, "We hope within this week makumpleto. At kasama ang dasal walang weather disturbance na tatahak sa dalawang dinaanan. Napakasakit nitong nangyari, ang 'Pedring' at 'Quiel' ineksakto." Salacup explained that the repair of roads in Northern and Central Luzon, where majority of Metro Manila's vegetables come from, helped the prices of vegetables to become more stable. The Cordillera area supplies 65 percent of highland-type vegetables nationwide while Central Luzon supplies beans, eggplants, tomatoes, and ampalaya, he said. He noted that traders have been cooperative and have not taken advantage of the situation when the roads in Northern and Central Luzon were damaged by the two recent typhoons. The DA's monitoring shows that prices of some highland and lowland vegetables are still P10 per kilo above normal levels. Vegetables like tomatoes, eggplants and string beans now cost P50 to 60 a kilo but should go back to P30 to 40 per kilo "by the end of the week," Salacup said. He said the DA is working on a program to produce vegetables in other areas like Southern Luzon and Mindanao, to make the prices of fresh produce more stable. On the other hand, the prices of agricultural commodities like chicken, pork, fish and rice and eggs remain stable, he said. Road repair Salacup said roads in the Cordillera area are being repaired and are already being used by more than half of the 65 trucks that usually ply along these roads. As of October 8, Salacup said 42 of the 65 trucks normally traveling from the La Trinidad Trading Post to Metro Manila were able to ply along Cordillera roads. Tollway VAT not an excuse to raise prices Meanwhile, Salacup said the 12-percent value-added tax (VAT) for tollway fees should not be an excuse to raise the prices of agricultural products. He said the VAT should add only 10 to 11 centavos per kilo of agricultural goods transported via the North and South Luzon Expressways. - VVP, GMA News