President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the Department of Agriculture will come up with a farm-to-market road (FMR) masterplan that will serve as a guide for the government in its bid to promote food security and empower rural communities.
This as prices of meat products in Metro Manila went up by as much as P30 per kilo compared to last week’s average level amid tightening supply and threats of African swine fever, Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines party-list Rep. Nicanor Briones said.
“When it comes to eggs, it will definitely go up further as there really is a shortage. It would take one and a half years for the supply to stabilize… As for pork, prices could increase slightly because the demand will increase, while supplies will not have any significant increase because of the threat of ASF,” Briones said.
Flour millers have likewise warned prices of flour are expected to increase as prices of wheat continue to hike due to war between Russia and Ukraine, which hold about 30 to 40 percent of the world’s exportable stocks of wheat.
Marcos, for his part, told agriculture officials the masterplan should include regional maps detailing the exact locations of the farm-to-market roads to be constructed.
“We need to know what are the areas (where) we really want to open and that really need the FMR? Let us prioritize those areas,” said Marcos, who concurrently heads the DA, during a meeting at the Bureau of Soils and Water Management Convention Hall in Quezon City on Monday.
The plan should also include funding source, payment terms, as well as the time frame for project completion, he added.
The President also wants official development assistance-funded farm-to-market projects to be constructed in priority areas identified by the government.
“FMR is the first step to solve some of the supply chain problems. So let us prioritize the areas that produce,” he said.
As this developed, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means has asked flour millers and bread makers to fortify their products with additional vitamins and minerals.
Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, the panel’s chairperson, said this was in anticipation of the so-called “shrinkflation” or the reduction in serving size of certain goods to prevent an increase in per serving price.
Salceda said bread will probably be the hardest hit by shrinkflation.
“Wheat prices have increased by 165 percent At that point, breadmakers will probably both increase prices and shrink sizes,” he said.
“Egg prices are also threatening to go out of control. Sugar supply is already problematic. What we are likely to see is shrinkflation. Goods are getting smaller instead of higher prices,” Salceda added.
In Europe, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned Monday Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports threatens grain supplies to tens of thousands of people vulnerable to starvation and must end.
“It’s an issue of life and death for many human beings. And the question is that Russia has to de-block and allow Ukrainian grain to be exported,” Borrell told reporters.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators will meet UN and Turkish diplomats in Istanbul on Wednesday to discuss a possible agreement to end the months-long blockade of Ukraine’s ports.
President Vladimir Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine in February and its forces have captured some Black Sea ports and bombarded others, including the key grain exporting outlet in the city of Odessa.
Ukraine has also mined the approaches to some of its ports to protect them from Russian assault.
But Ukraine’s farms are a major source of grain for the world market, in particular in the Middle East and Africa, where food supplies are critically tight.
“The most worrisome thing is the lack of food in many countries around the world, and there is no food because Russia is blocking the export of Ukrainian grain,” Borrell said.
Borrell spoke as he arrived at a meeting in Brussels of EU foreign ministers to discuss closing loopholes in their sanctions regime to punish Russia for the invasion.
He said that Ukraine’s European allies would do what they can to help Kyiv export its grain through overland routes and across the Danube river, but warned that the ports were key.
“So, I hope—and I think I have a hope—that this week it will be possible to reach an agreement to de-block this and other Ukrainian ports,” he said, referring to Odessa.
“The life of thousands—more than thousands—tens of thousands of people depends on this agreement. So it’s not a diplomatic game.” With AFP