An agricultural group urged the government on Friday to extend its fuel subsidy to private cargo trucks to avert a potential supply shortage in farm produce in markets, warning that 50 percent of them have already stopped operations due to soaring oil prices. 

Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. president Danilo Faustino said their estimate showed that truck operations have been cut in half since some operators could no longer afford to travel long distances to the provinces and transport the produce in Metro Manila due to high fuel costs brought about by the conflict in the Middle East. 

He referenced the current situation in Benguet, where farmers are forced to dump their unsold produce due to oversupply, rather than sell it to middlemen who haggle it down to an unreasonably low price because of rising delivery costs.

“Trucks no longer travel to Benguet because it’s a mountainous area and the price of diesel is high. So that's the problem,” he said in Filipino in a radio interview. “That's why the vegetables that arrive at the trading area don’t get sold.” 

Despite the rollback next week, fuel prices remain significantly higher than pre-war levels, placing a financial burden on PUV drivers, farmers, and fisherfolk, who are heavily dependent on fuel for their livelihoods.

Initial estimates showed that diesel could drop by P5.50 to P6.50 per liter, while gasoline may fall by P1 per liter.

Aside from this, the impending El Niño also poses a threat to farmers due to increased fuel demand. 

Faustino said that while the administration has been focused on assisting PUV drivers to ensure unhampered operations, the fuel subsidy for farmers and fisherfolk—and, if possible, private truck operators—is equally important to ensure food stability amid the oil crisis. 

“Because of the problem of fuel, there is a possibility that if the government does not provide assistance, the application of fertilizer will go down, as well as the yield, which could lower our supply,” he warned.

Farmers and fisherfolk still haven’t received the government's fuel subsidy, though the Department of Agriculture announced it will be released this month. 

The budget, sourced from the General Appropriations Act, will be distributed to 14,400 farmers and 15,669 fisherfolk, with each receiving P5,000 and P3,000, respectively. 

DA Director Lorna Calda told a Senate hearing earlier this week that the fuel subsidy is only “one-time,” though she added that it is separate from the P10 billion that President Marcos Jr. has ordered to be set aside for the agricultural and fishery sectors.

The presidential assistance has an expanded coverage, benefiting around 4.17 million farmers and fisherfolk, although the subsidy is relatively lower, with each receiving merely P2,325, according to Calda.

Aside from this, she said DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. is requesting the release of P7 billion in the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Program Fund so that rice farmers can get P3,200 each. 

As for the rice supply, Faustino projected that the country could maintain a steady supply until June or July, though he noted that production could drop by late May due to high production costs, especially for fertilizer, which increased by P1,000, or P6,000 to P8,000 per hectare. 

Fertilizers are essential in farming, accounting for about 25 percent of total rice inputs, according to Faustino. 

In late March, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas lamented that successive big-time oil price spikes are driving up the costs of pesticides and fertilizers, with urea surging to P2,200 to P2,400 per 50-kilogram bag, and complete fertilizer rising to approximately P2,100 from the initial P1,600 to P1,750, affecting the production chain.

The DA had projected that rice prices would spike by August if fuel prices remain elevated due to the global oil disruption.