The National Price Coordinating Council and Agriculture Department of the Philippines should act to stabilize vegetable market prices, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said on Sunday. The government should also collaborate with the private sector to formulate a "sustainable food pricing system" that will make vegetables cheaper, he said.
"We cannot leave this to the market without a clear plan. From planting to selling in the market, there must be proper regulation," he said in a statement.
Mr. Romualdez said vegetable prices remain elevated, putting a strain on the finances of low-income families.
In February, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the average retail price for a kilo of tomato was P109.94, red onion P162.69, and calamansi P86.63. Mr. Romualdez said he would back measures that would "institutionalize long-term solutions" to elevated rice prices, such as improved land-use policies for farming, incentives for agricultural cooperatives and strengthening oversight over food supply chain disruptions.
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