DA steps up interventions, keeps food prices stable

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is intensifying efforts to temper the impact of rising consumer prices, banking on rice price controls and supply-side interventions to keep essential food affordable, particularly for poor households.

Lower rice prices and easing costs for meat, poultry and fruits — tempered by DA measures under the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. — helped cushion vulnerable sectors from the acceleration of headline inflation in August.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported Friday that inflation picked up to 1.5 percent in August from 0.9 percent in July, largely due to weather-related spikes in the cost of vegetables and fish. Despite the uptick, inflation for the bottom 30 percent of households remained negative at -0.6 percent, reflecting the sustained decline in rice prices.

The DA’s implementation of maximum suggested retail prices (SRPs), lowered to P43 per kilo on 16 July, has driven rice prices down 19.3 percent year-on-year in August after a 17.8 percent drop in July. For poor households — where rice accounts for 18 percent of spending — the measure provided significant relief.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the agency is widening its interventions to include other vital commodities, as storms and flooding continue to disrupt domestic supply chains.

“We’ve approved fish importation to supplement supply in the coming closed fishing season, and the Food and Drug Administration has cleared the commercial use of bird flu vaccines to help boost poultry output ahead of the holidays,” he noted.

Tiu Laurel added that the DA is closely monitoring commodity supply conditions nationwide, in line with President Marcos’ directive to ensure food affordability.

“We want to make sure that food prices remain stable and accessible, especially for the poor,” he said.