Capiz plantation still safe against El Niño
ROXAS CITY – Despite the threats posed by the El Niño phenomenon, the price of rice, agricultural products and other basic commodities remain stable.
In a Provincial Price Coordinating Council meeting presided over by Capiz Governor Victor Tanco, Trade and Industry Provincial Director Ermelinda Pollentes disclosed that except for sugar, the price of other prime and basic commodities remain unchanged.
Pollentes, however, said that the prevailing price of sugar in Roxas is P53.00 per kilogram while brown sugar is sold at P43.00 per kilogram.
She said that no price increase yet was also seen on bread, cooking oil, flour including construction materials such as cement.
On the other hand, National Food Authority Provincial Manager Procopio Trabajo II said that there is also no upward movement in the price of commercial rice in the market.
Trabajo also said that there is also a sufficient supply of government rice in the province through the various Tindahan Natin and Bigasan ng Bayan outlets.
He said that they are also expecting the arrival of 45,000 imported rice to augment the rice buffer stock of the province.
Likewise, Bureau of Agricultural Statistics Provincial head Eric Piansay revealed that Capiz has a rice buffer stock that is equivalent to 70 days.
Piansay said that many farmers in Capiz are still harvesting their palay while others have also started planting for the third cropping.
Other palay plantation is also on the vegetative and harvest stages, he said.
Piansay revealed that about 5,000 hectares harvestable palay plantation in the province in March and about 11,000 hectares which is scheduled for harvest in April could be affected by the El Niño phenomenon.
“There is no destruction yet on the palay plantation in Capiz,” he said, adding that there is no abnormal price situation but the change in prices is due to the seasonability of the harvest.
He also disclose that there is also a low sugarcane production from 2007 to 2009 which could be a reason in the jacking up of price of sugar at present. (PIA/Jemin B. Guillermo)
