As Filipinos slowly try to recover from months of inexplicably high onion prices, some are now bracing for higher costs of another kitchen staple; garlic. Again, a supply shortage lurks around the corner.
The Department of Agriculture’s (DA) price monitoring also showed that current retail prices of locally grown red and white onions had decreased slightly to P200-P350 compared to the all-time high retail price of P700 per kilogram during the holiday season.
However, just as many people began to expect more stir-fry dishes again, they recently noticed yet another round of increasing prices for a different essential vegetable: garlic.
In a recent statement, the DA said more garlic consumers continue to prefer purchasing imported garlic sold at around P80 per kilo, than locally grown and harvested bulbs sold at around P300 per kilo.
Garlic supply shortage
In some markets in Metro Manila, vendors attributed the increasing cost of locally produced bulbs to low supply. According to the DA, inventory for the local produce in the market has “significantly shrunk as last year’s supply was ‘almost used up’ by the series of holidays of December.”
Source: newsinfo.inquirer.net