DA eyes MSRP for eggs, garlic, etc

As if the setback it suffered from the massive non-compliance by hog traders/retailers of the maximum suggested retail price for pork, the Department of Agriculture is now expanding its MSRP experiment on eggs and garlic in the hope of better results.

By now, the DA must realize that even with rice and other items before, it had miserably failed in convincing merchants to follow its suggested retail prices and analyze why the low compliance. By now it must have felt that non-compliance could be borne from a lack of trust in the agency or a leadership failure.

Still, let us see if the persuasive power of DA would not lead to punitive actions that would further disrupt the marketplace that could result in the disappearance of more food items or  skyrocketing prices that would further stall economic growth.

The DA said it is considering imposing MSRP on garlic to prevent possible profiteering.

But such MSRP on garlic will have to wait as the DA remains primarily on controlling the prices of rice and pork for now.

At the farmgate level garlic prices are miserably low, sending farmers despairing for how to recover from their production costs. But in the retail markets, their prices are so high– despite the arrival of huge imports– because importers and big traders are stashing their stocks to force market prices up. As of last time I set myself to buy garlic, I had to back out because it was atrociously high.

Laurel said while the planned MSRP for garlic has been under discussion but was placed on hold after the price per kilo dropped to around P100, down from P160. But where can we find this rate? I couldn’t.

Laurel claimed that P160 was double the estimated landed cost of P80 per kg. Question is, where are the imported garlic so consumers like us can buy even the produce of other countries.

At P100, the DA said, this rate is still reasonable so the need to shelve for now the MSRP. But if the prices rise anew, the DA will proceed with its price ceilings for garlic. By my recent trip to wet markets, egg prices have gone up also reaching a range of P9 to P12 per piece in wet markets, as if following the high prices in the US, with egg farms being hit by avian flu.

The DA said it is closely monitoring the prices of eggs to ensure they don’t rise to unreasonable levels. Tiu Laurel noted that rising demand due to election spending and increasing chicken mortality from higher temperatures are contributing factors to the price fluctuations.

He said DA monitoring places egg prices within the P6-P8 range, lower than the reported P10-P12.

“There are some who are suggesting we implement na MSRP on eggs but, as with other goods like rice and pork, we have to consult stakeholders stakeholders first so as not to shock the industry,” he said.

On March 31, the DA further reduced the MSRP for imported rice to P45 per kilo from P49, reflecting the global decline in rice prices. For pork, the DA set an MSRP of P380 per kilo for liempo and P350 per kilo for kasim and pigue. While compliance has improved, it is still not at the ideal level. 

Given the current price, which the DA considers reasonable, the proposal for MSRP remains on standby. However, if prices rise anew, the DA will likely proceed with the plan.

“Since the price has fallen to around P100 a kilo, we had to hold back. I think the current price is reasonable given their cost of around P80,” Tiu Laurel said. “But if prices spike again, we will definitely implement an MSRP.”

The DA is also closely monitoring the prices of eggs to ensure they don’t rise to unreasonable levels. Tiu Laurel noted that rising demand due to election spending and increasing chicken mortality from higher temperatures are contributing factors to the price fluctuations.

He said DA monitoring places egg prices within the P6-P8 range, lower than the reported P10-P12.

“There are some who are suggesting we implement na MSRP on eggs but, as with other goods like rice and pork, we have to consult stakeholders stakeholders first so as not to shock the industry,” he said.

On March 31, the DA further reduced the MSRP for imported rice to P45 per kilo from P49, reflecting the global decline in rice prices. For pork, the DA set an MSRP of P380 per kilo for liempo and P350 per kilo for kasim and pigue. While compliance has improved, it is still not at the ideal level.  ROSE DELA CRUZ