PRICES of vegetables may start easing in the next few weeks due to the harvest season of onions this January as well as the expected decline in fertilizer prices, a farmers group said.
Inflation in December accelerated to 8.1 percent mainly due to higher food prices driven by vegetables, including onions. Vegetable inflation rose 32.4 percent for the month, which is the highest since February 1999, government data showed.
Fertilizer prices have begun to ease from the elevated prices in 2022, Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) chairman Rosendo So said on Thursday, Jan. 5.
Local fertilizer prices, heavily influenced by international commodity prices, spiked last year to P2,500 from P800 per 50-kilo bag. Fuel used in pumps to irrigate farmlands could have also contributed to the higher vegetable prices, So said.
“This January, medyo bumaba [ang presyo ng fertilizer], but it is, mataas pa rin compared sa 2021. Etong presyo is nasa P1,800 ang import price, so bumaba ng konti ang presyo,” So said.
“We are seeing na baka ang mga magtanim nitong gulay nitong January, kung gumamit sila ng fertilizer, it will be lower, the cost of production. By then, sa tingin namin ang February price will be lower. February, March siguro,” he added.
The price of red onions rose up to P700 per kilo while white onion reached up to P800 per kilo last month, but prices are also expected to continue to drop this month, he said.
“‘Yung harvest mag-i-start ng Jan. 15, so medyo bababa ang presyo,” So said.
Based on the price monitoring of the Department of Agriculture, local red onion is priced between P280 and P680 per kilo in National Capital Region markets. Local white onions are at P400 to P600 as of Jan. 4. (ABS-CBN News)
