Manila: The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday said it is closely monitoring retail movements in the prices of vegetables and fish following recent weather disturbances. In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel explained that continuous rains and flooding caused by the southwest monsoon or 'habagat' and recent typhoons could bring temporary upward adjustments to some commodity prices.

According to Philippines News Agency, the bigger near-term concern is food inflation in high-value crops and fishery products, as flooding has damaged farms and fish ponds and disrupted the flow of goods to markets. As of Thursday, losses in high-value crops covered 4,869 hectares of farm lands across eight regions, leading to a 22,415 metric ton (MT) volume loss valued at PHP1.03 billion, as reported by the DA-Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Operations Center.

The fisheries sector also experienced production losses and damage to fishing boats, gears, tanks, fish pond dikes, and office buildings, accumulating to PHP412.84 million in losses. Tiu Laurel noted the contribution of higher fuel prices to increased freight costs, adding to inflationary pressures. He further emphasized that 'habagat' and the weaker peso are not aiding the DA's efforts to stabilize food prices.

Notably, Tiu Laurel's assessment comes at a time when the country witnessed a slowdown in both headline and food inflation for August. Food inflation eased to 4.6 percent last month, down from 5.3 percent in July. Inflation for vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses declined by 3.4 percent from an 8.4 percent increase. However, rice inflation rose to 19.4 percent from 17.1 percent in July, while fish inflation slowed to 6.6 percent from 7.8 percent.

Despite these challenges, Tiu Laurel assured that the Philippines has sufficient rice supply. 'We have sufficient rice stocks because of the harvest and the front-loading of imports as we prepare for the impact of El Ni±o,' he stated. The rice sector has borne the brunt of the damage, suffering losses of 59,872 metric tons (MT) worth PHP1.90 billion. This volume loss represents 0.30 percent of the total annual production target volume of 20.29 million MT.

The DA previously confirmed its commitment to implementing interventions to cushion the impact of agricultural damage on Filipino farmers and fishers, highlighting ongoing efforts to manage the situation effectively.