DA may keep price freeze on farm products during GCQ
THE Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday revealed plans to maintain a price freeze on various agricultural farm products even after the country transitioned to a general community quarantine (GCQ) status.
In an online briefing, Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said they will propose to the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases to convert the prevailing suggested retail price (SRP) matrix on certain farm products into a price freeze order. Dar added that they will present their proposal to the IATF next week.
“What are we doing right now is we are reviewing all SRPS and transform these into price freeze. We hope the IATF endorses our proposal and hoping the President will continue to support the implementation of the Price Act,” Dar said.
“The SRP is there. But it will have more teeth if we transform the SRP into price freeze,” Dar added.
In March, the DA issued an order for the initial list of farm products to have their SRPS: Pork (pigue/kasim) at P190 per kilogram; whole, dressed chicken at P130 per kilogram; brown/raw sugar at P45 per kg; refined sugar at P50 per kg; bangus (cage-cultured) at P162 per kg; tilapia (pond-cultured) at P120 per kg; imported galunggong at P130 per kg; imported garlic at P70 per kg; locally produced garlic at P120 per kg and imported red onions at P95 per kg.
In April, the DA expanded its SRP matrix to include additional agricultural products such as pork liempo (P225 per kg); imported special rice (P51 per kg); imported premium rice (P42 per kg); imported well-milled rice (P40 per kg); and imported regularmilled rice (P39 per kg).
The expanded SRP also covered local special rice (P53 per kg); local premium rice (P45 per kg); local wellmilled rice (P40 per kg); local regularmilled rice (P33 per kg); local galunggong (P130 per kg); medium-sized eggs (P6.50 per piece); cooking oil (P24 for 30 ML and P50 for a liter).
Under Republic Act 7581 or the Price Act, the DA could impose SRP “for any, or all basic necessities and prime agricultural commodities.”
Under the law, the President, upon the recommendation of the DA, or the Price Coordinating Council, may impose price ceiling on basic necessity or prime agricultural commodities.
However, such recommendation by the DA or the Price Coordinating Council shall be based on any of the following conditions: the impendency, existence, or effects of a calamity; the threat, existence, or effect of an emergency; the prevalence or widespread acts of illegal price manipulation; the impendency , existence, or effect of any event that causes artificial and unreasonable increase in the price of the basic necessity or prime commodity; and whenever the prevailing price of any basic necessity or prime commodity has risen to unreasonable levels.