DA: Trading of vegetables in Baguio, La Trinidad back to normal

The trading of vegetables in Baguio and La Trinidad in Benguet has now gone back to normal after supplies were reportedly given for free or sold at a lower price a few days earlier, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Wednesday. 

“Simula January 8 ay naging normal na uli ang trading dito sa ating mga trading center sa La Trinidad at Baguio. Makikita natin na as of 2 p.m. kada araw ay nauubos na uli at ang presyo ay bumabalik na rin sa normal para sa pangunahing gulay, lalo na ang cabbage, wombok, at mga carrots,” DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in an Unang Balita interview. 

This developed after residents reportedly found hundreds of cabbage dumped by farmers by the roadside in Tublay, Benguet, after traders refused to buy the vegetables. The cabbages, as well as radishes from another truck, were given for free. 

Five tons of fresh vegetables from Benguet were also retrieved by a Marikina resident. These vegetables were initially rejected by vendors in Balintawak, Divisoria, Taguig, Pasig, Tarlac, and Pangasinan before they were bought and sold on social media. 

De Mesa attributed these to the low trading of vegetables in Baguio and La Trinidad when the year 2024 started. 

“Noong unang tatlong araw nitong January, doon sa ating trading center, ay kakaunti ang namili ng gulay noong unang tatlong araw at kakaunti ang trucking. Dahil dito, ‘yung mga ilang gulay na dapat ite-trade nung araw na ‘yun ay hindi nai-trade at nagkaron ng mahabang pila,” he said. 

(Only a few bought vegetables during the first three days of January. Because of this, the vegetables that were supposed to be traded on those days were not traded.) 

“Kaya ‘yung ibang na-deteriorate na gulay ay kung hindi ipinamigay ng libre, ay naibenta nang mura.” 

(The vegetables that have deteriorated were either given for free or sold at a lower price.) 

Despite this, De Mesa pointed out that there was no oversupply of vegetables in these areas, citing information from the DA Regional Field Office Cordillera and the local government units. 

“Sinasabi at nakumpirma natin na wala namang oversupply ng mga pangunahing gulay dito sa Baguio Trading Center at ganun din sa La Trinidad. In fact, merong pang maliit na reduction sa production natin noong 2023 kung ikukumpara natin noong 2022,” he said.

(We have confirmed that there is no oversupply of basic vegetables at Baguio Trading Center and in La Trinidad. In fact, there was even a small reduction in our production of vegetables in 2023, compared to 2022.) 

De Mesa said that the DA is planning to build an additional trading post in Mountain Province to avoid similar problems. 

There will also be a zoning of crop production in the local government and clustering and consolidation of farms, he said. —KBK, GMA Integrated News