MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday said ongoing ginger importations will help tame spiking retail prices in local markets.
“We are expecting na bababa ang luya dahil sa pagpasok ng imported na luya (that the prices of ginger will drop with the arrival of imported ginger),” DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in an interview.
De Mesa made the statement as the prevailing price of ginger in Metro Manila hit as high as PhP 300 per kilogram, far from the average PhP 80/kg. to PhP 100/kg. level.
He said imports from China are ongoing, with other arrivals expected from Vietnam and Indonesia.
“Ngayon kasi is maraming parating, kagaya ngayong (Right now, there’s many coming in, just like this) October, we are expecting 350 metric tons (MT) additional importation for ginger, plus iyong (the) opening up from Vietnam and Indonesia of 100 metric tons na darating ngayon ding (which will also arrive in) October,” he said, pointing to a possible price drop within the month.
As of September, 4, 248.9 MT out of the 13,725 MT expected volume arrived from China; while 50 MT are expected each from Vietnam and Indonesia, according to the DA.
De Mesa said this year’s arrivals are relatively higher than the 143.75 MT total ginger import in 2023.
In terms of local production, the DA said the country had around 86 percent ginger sufficiency in 2023, hitting 29, 153.73 MT local production, which was slightly lower than the 33, 867.83 MT local demand.
De Mesa, meanwhile, attributed the current ginger price pressures to the increasing industrial demands, the effects of the El Niño phenomenon, and successive typhoons.
“Lumaki rin iyong demand ngayon for the industrial users iyong gumagawa ng herbal tea, iyong gumagawa ng turmeric tea. So, lumaki iyong (The demand from industrial users making herbal tea, turmeric tea has increased. So, there’s an increased) demand this year,” De Mesa said.
“Iyong mga traditional natin na area tinataniman natin ng luya, sila rin iyong nabagyo ng husto (The traditional areas for planting ginger were among the hardest-hit by typhoons) this year. Like Calabarzon, and then, itong parts ng (of) Sierra Madre.”
He, meanwhile, assured stringent monitoring in local markets to prevent retailers from taking advantage of consumers, especially with the expected import arrivals.
“Dapat hindi ganoon kalaki ang presyo (It shouldn’t be that expensive). We’ll strictly monitor iyong prices sa pamilihan… (the market prices) it’s very expensive. Ang pinakamura is PhP 140, pero iyong prevailing mo (The cheapest is PhP 140, while your prevailing) is PhP 300, so that’s the problem,” De Mesa said.
As of Tuesday, the price of ginger in Metro Manila ranges from PhP 140/kg. to PhP 300/kg., higher than last month’s PhP 200/kg. to PhP 260/kg., according to the DA-Bantay Presyo. (PNA)