Pork, Potato, Eggplant Prices Down; Supply of Vegetables Normal—DA

Quezon City — The Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday that the prices of pork, potato and eggplant prices has dropped while the prices of fish and certain vegetables went up following the onslaught of typhoon Ineng.

Assistant Secretary for Agribusiness Leandro Gazmin said that based on the price and supply monitoring conducted by the DA’s Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS), pork kasim is now sold at about P10/kg, lower than its August 19 price, prior to typhoon Ineng.

On the other hand, the prices of galunggong (round scad) and alumahan increased by P10/kg and P60/kg, respectively.

“This can be attributed to the sailing restrictions due to the typhoon,” Gazmin said.

Meanwhile, potato and eggplant are also now sold at less than P10/kg. Whereas, the prices of cabbage rose by P70/kg, carrots by P90/kg and pechay Baguio by P40/kg, compared to August 19 prices.

“These highland vegetables are prone to rotting; thus, changes in prices are always experienced during the rainy season,” Gazmin said.

For lowland vegetables, price increases were noted for tomato, which is sold higher by P10/kg, and native pechay, the price of which rose by P30/kg.

Nevertheless, according to AMAS, vegetable supplies in markets monitored remain normal.

According to Gazmin, prices of highland vegetables will be normalized with the arrival of 250 to 300 trucks—each with an average load of 3,000 kg—of assorted highland vegetables from the La Trinidad Trading Post. As of the DA’s last checking, the roads leading to the trading post and going to Manila are passable. (DA)