Food prices are spiralling out of control. I went to the market and found that a kilo of potatoes cost 120 pesos, while a bunch of petchays cost 200,000. 200,000? err...sorry...it's not Prospero Petchay's LWUA party I'm talking about. I was referring to, err, Pichay. Pechays cost 60 pesos.:-)
The DTI imposed a price ceiling, a very nice move on the part of government. And they are thinking of imposing a ceiling to gasoline prices, a very, very good move indeed! Not if Energy secretary Angelo Reyes is to be asked. He wants his cut. And he can't do it with a price ceiling.
How about imposing a price ceiling for medicines? A nice idea, don't you think? Will government do it? I hope they do because people desperately need those medicines since huge portions of Metro Manila are plagued by dengue and other water-borne diseases.
Rice, that precious commodity rose by about one to five pesos, depends on where you buy yours. Mine, I buy it either in Makro (now SM Hypermart) or Puregold. If you buy it from an NFA dealer, you'll buy it two pesos higher. But, that comes with dirt.
Some businessmen would surely take advantage of the situation and either hoard some stuff or rationalize higher price tags. These people should be arrested pronto, paraded and shot in full public view. That will make profiteers think twice before they even do something.
What government should think about is this--this situation has the potential of igniting food riots. People have no money, especially those who lost both their homes and their pieces of property during the storm. And desperate times calls for desperate measures to most people. Remember the social aggression theory? Riots are indeed possible during these critical times, and for government, that means a national security issue.
If government wants to avert such a scenario, they need to act fast. The situation is slowly slipping from their hands. This is an opportunity rarely missed by Leaders with true Machiavellian characters. Anybody with a rifle will surely see this as a chance to make History. Or remake one.
Showing posts with label food security. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food security. Show all posts
Monday, October 12, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Rising prices: Main Political Issue in 2010 Elections
A rainy Sunday and what a way to spend time just blogging. Yesterday, I had a chance to spend quality time with my family by just going to the Pasay City public market. Every week, we buy our stuff there and it's an opportunity for me to know first-hand, if prices of goods are rising or stayed the same. And boy, it is definitely rising in such ridiculous fashion.
If you have 1,000 pesos, what that could buy are a few seafoods (I bought octopus for 90 per kilo), a kilo of chicken, a kilo or two of beef, some veggies and eggs. And this would only last for a week. So, for food stuffs alone, you need at least 4,000 pesos per month and this does not include grocery items. For groceries, I normally spend 4-5,000 per two weeks.
I admit that prices are dependent on market forces. It's a push and pull thing, meaning if stocks are plenty, then, lower prices. If stocks are limited, prices are higher. Marketers always make a killing during rainy season, rationalizing that stocks are limited due to difficulties transporting goods from the farm to the market. Of course, they also make those reasons during xmastime. They say people buy so many things and that makes them pricey.
What government does not admit is, they failed in their duty to modernize our food terminals. In fact, we don't have a national food terminal anymore, because government just sold one to a private company a few weeks ago. So, we are left at the mercy of big-time food suppliers who manipulate market prices and the flow of commodities.
So, expect our food prices to go way up, and not down, perpetually. It's the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture, specifically its lead agency, the National Food Authority, to at least ensure that we have enough food stocks. The inability of this agency of government to ensure a steady flow of basic commodities like rice is really revolting. In fact, NFA tolerates those food cartels which sabotages market forces so that we buy these stuff higher than what our Asian neighbours do. So, the proliferation of these food cartels are reasons why we buy food higher than other Asian markets.
That is why the next president should ensure that the security of our food stuffs should be in order. Next year's election is not about democracy nor freedoms. No.
Next year's elections should be decided on the best agenda or platform for food security. There are ways on how to lower prices of goods, like food stuffs and energy (oil, electricity and water) but the Chief Executive simply do not do what is necessary because of political expediency.
So, the mantra that definitely would appeal to the electorate this elections is this---lower prices of basic commodities. (By the way, 49% of Filipinos especially those of voting age, consider this the main issue, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board)
If you have 1,000 pesos, what that could buy are a few seafoods (I bought octopus for 90 per kilo), a kilo of chicken, a kilo or two of beef, some veggies and eggs. And this would only last for a week. So, for food stuffs alone, you need at least 4,000 pesos per month and this does not include grocery items. For groceries, I normally spend 4-5,000 per two weeks.
I admit that prices are dependent on market forces. It's a push and pull thing, meaning if stocks are plenty, then, lower prices. If stocks are limited, prices are higher. Marketers always make a killing during rainy season, rationalizing that stocks are limited due to difficulties transporting goods from the farm to the market. Of course, they also make those reasons during xmastime. They say people buy so many things and that makes them pricey.
What government does not admit is, they failed in their duty to modernize our food terminals. In fact, we don't have a national food terminal anymore, because government just sold one to a private company a few weeks ago. So, we are left at the mercy of big-time food suppliers who manipulate market prices and the flow of commodities.
So, expect our food prices to go way up, and not down, perpetually. It's the responsibility of the Department of Agriculture, specifically its lead agency, the National Food Authority, to at least ensure that we have enough food stocks. The inability of this agency of government to ensure a steady flow of basic commodities like rice is really revolting. In fact, NFA tolerates those food cartels which sabotages market forces so that we buy these stuff higher than what our Asian neighbours do. So, the proliferation of these food cartels are reasons why we buy food higher than other Asian markets.
That is why the next president should ensure that the security of our food stuffs should be in order. Next year's election is not about democracy nor freedoms. No.
Next year's elections should be decided on the best agenda or platform for food security. There are ways on how to lower prices of goods, like food stuffs and energy (oil, electricity and water) but the Chief Executive simply do not do what is necessary because of political expediency.
So, the mantra that definitely would appeal to the electorate this elections is this---lower prices of basic commodities. (By the way, 49% of Filipinos especially those of voting age, consider this the main issue, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board)
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