DA chief urged to answer fertilizer price issue

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines — A farmers’ group yesterday urged Agriculture Secretary William Dar and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) to reveal the wholesale price of fertilizer that the government procured recently.

The Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA) said by revealing the real price, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the FPA could clear the issue on alleged overpricing of fertilizer.

UMA chair Antonio Flores shrugged off Dar’s statement that the DA’s purchase of urea fertilizer at an average of P1,000 per 50-kilogram bag is cheaper than the prevailing retail prices from March to May this year.

The prevailing price during the period was P1,043 to P1,062 per bag.

“Everybody knows that wholesale prices of any product is much cheaper than the retail prices since the DA purchased these in bulk,” Flores said.

He said that when the DA conducted a bidding in February, the global wholesale price of urea was P10,881.70 per metric ton or P544.08 per 50-kilogram bag.

The average retail price in the country at the time was P1,067.94 per bag, the FPA said.

“Dar’s excuse that the higher prices of fertilizer was due to transportation costs, incidental services and applicable taxes is pure hogwash,” Flores said.