Garlic supplies rot in Mindoro as prices in Metro Manila climb

Garlic supplies in Lubang, Occidental Mindoro have started to rot due to a lack of buyers, while prices of the commodity spiked in Metro Manila given the lack of supplies.

According to Lubang Mayor Michael Orayani, the local government is appealing to the Department of Agriculture (DA) to address the issue and assist local farmers.

“Ang naging problema po diyan ay wala pong namili. Hindi naman po talaga dumami ang supply kasi ang nagtatanim po ng bawang ngayon ay hindi na po ganoon karami dahil napakababa na po ng presyo ng bawang ngayon,” he said in Bernadette Reyes' report on GMA’s “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday.

“Kami po ay nananawagan sa Department of Agriculture na kung pupuwede po umuwi po sila sa amin at kami po ay nakahanda namang matuto kung ano man po ang puwede namin pang-agriculture, puwede naming itanim at pagkakitaan ng aming mga magsasaka,” he added.

(The problem is that there are no buyers. There has been no increase in the supply because there are fewer garlic farmers due to dropping prices.

We are appealing to the Department of Agriculture to visit us if possible. We are ready to learn other agricultural methods or alternative commodities our farmers can plant so they can earn a living.)

Garlic prices in Mindoro plunged to as low as P30 per kilogram, in contrast to the P300 per kilogram selling price in Metro Manila based on monitoring of the DA on Friday, September 16, 2022.

The DA, for its part, said they were open to meeting with local governments to address the issue.

“We prefer to be proactive ano? So we would like to meet with the local government para po ‘yung cropping calendar pa lang po nila, if they work closely with us, then we can anticipate ‘yung mga ganitong pangyayari,” said Agriculture Undersecretary Kristine Evangelista .

“At the same time, tutulungan po natin ang ating mga magsasaka,” she added.

(We prefer to be proactive. So we would like to meet with the local government so that from their cropping calendar, if they work closely with us, then we can anticipate these kinds of events. At the same time, we will help our farmers.) — DVM, GMA News