DTI hints at manipulation as cause of high prices of garlic

The Department of Trade and Industry on Thursday hinted at manipulation as the cause of the sudden spike of the prices of garlic in the market.

"The facts presented during this hearing show that there was price manipulation…," said Victorio Mario Dimagiba, Trade and Industry Undersecretary for Consumer Welfare and Business Regulation Group.

At Thursday's hearing of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, Dimagiba, who is also the head of the National Price Coordinating Council Secretariat, said "The supply chain is very long to cause a huge increase on the retail price."

The sudden spike in the prices of garlic and other commodities had prompted the Senate to conduct a probe to determine its cause.

In a statement, Senator Grace Poe, vice-chair of the Senate committee on agriculture, said a freeze on prices of garlic should be immediately implemented "as market prices of the prime commodity have increased to alarming proportions."

"Do we have an agency that automatically implements a price freeze or moratorium on price spikes if it has been found that there is unreasonably high spikes in basic commodities?" Poe said.

Also, she noted that garlic prices now range from P280 to P350 per kilo.

Citing Republic Act 7581 or the Price Act of 1992, Poe said the Department of Agriculture may impose a price control if there is "prevalence or widespread acts of illegal price manipulation... causing artificial and unreasonable increase in the price of the basic commodity." 

A separate report on GMA News TV's "Balitanghali" indicated that while the consumption of garlic in the Philippines reaches 1.1 million kilos, only 15 to 20 percent of the demand is being locally supplied.

The report also noted that the Bureau of Customs recently intercepted at least 700 tons of smuggled garlic. — Amanda Fernandez /LBG, GMA News