While some of the staple goods in the Philippines are bearing the brunt of inflation due to supply shortages, at the same time, some farmers are suffering due to an oversupply of their crops such as cabbage and garlic that is tanking their market prices.
According to Agriculture Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban, the farmers themselves are to blame. Panganiban made the statement in a radio interview, where he blamed the nation’s farmers for “not thinking about the market” when planting their crops.
His comment came in response to reports that the northern province of Batanes produced a surplus of 25 metric tons of garlic, prompting Governor Marilou Cayco to plead with buyers to purchase their supply.
“The farmers plant their regular crops during this season but they do not think about whether they have a market to sell it to,” Panganiban said of the farmers in Batanes, adding that farmers in Benguet faced a similar situation.
Source: coconuts.co