The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

The joint operation of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Task Force Kalasag (TFK) with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) seized nearly P94 million worth of automotive-related products from “CSS Autoparts” warehouse in Quezon City recently. This record-breaking haul led to the immediate closure of the warehouse by the Quezon City local government. “We refuse to wait for …

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday cited the importance of prompt government action on the health care needs of Filipinos as he led the turnover of 51 ambulances from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to local government units (LGUs) and state-run hospitals in Western Visayas. “It’s built upon our thrust to improve people’s access to health care, especially …

The National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) will continue to function under the current administration, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. said Thursday. He said NTF-ELCAC should even be strengthened to show former rebels how sincere the government is in ending insurgency. “Ako nagpapatunay, napakaepektibo ng programang ito. Napakaganda po, ang talagang nangangailangan ng tulong napupunta sa …

The militaries of the Philippines and Singapore held a table-top exercise aimed at beefing up their coordination and interoperability during humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) missions. The activity, which ran from Wednesday to Thursday, took place at the Office of Civil Defense headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief Col. …

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) on Thursday welcomed the appointment of Assistant Secretary Jeffrey Gallardo as the new chairperson of the NIA Board, following its transfer to the Office of the President (OP). In a statement, NIA Administrator Eduardo Guillen expressed optimism over the anticipated progress of the agency under Gallardo’s helm. “Your appointment marks a new chapter of leadership …

The recent revelation by the Department of Agriculture (DA) that nearly 500,000 sacks of rice remain uncollected at the Manila International Container Terminal is both alarming and unacceptable. With the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) pointing to deliberate delays by importers, the situation raises serious concerns about possible hoarding. This manipulation of rice supply to drive up prices is a clear …

Despite bigger import volumes of rice brought about by reduced tariffs, domestic retail prices for the grain have remained high at P50 to P65 per kilogram, market inspections showed. Imported rice that landed the country as of September 5 of nearly 2.9 million metrijc tons at reduced tariff of 15 percent (from 35 percent previously) by virtue of Executive Order …

Around 733 million people all ovrr the world  continue to face hunger. This was the dire warning of Director General Qu Dongyu of the Food and Agriculture Organization at the G20 Agriculture Working Group Ministerial Meeting in Chapada dos Guimaraes, Brazil as he stressed global targets remain “worryingly out of reach.” While notable progress has been made in the Latin …

The  United States Department of Agriculture raised its forecast of corn imports of the Philippines to cope with the requirement of local hog industry and other users. The forecast came after reports of an expected 2.8 percent increase in local corm production from 8.2 million metric tons (MMT) to 8.4 MMT. Likewise, wheat imports of the country next year would …

Despite  the challenges being experienced by the coconut industry, Philippine coconut products continue to top the export market, which makes it more important for a massive coconut replanting program to ensure steady supply of coconut products in the export market. And for this, President Marcos ordered the Philippine Coconut Authority to coordinate closely with the Cooperative Development Authority and consolidate …