Crop production drops, prices rise

CEBU, Philippines —  The Cebu City Agriculture Department (CAD) has observed a decline in production volume among crops, which has resulted in an increase in prices for selected vegetables.

In an interview yesterday, CAD head Arleigh Gesta said the overall picture of crop production in Cebu City is consistent. However, he admitted that recently, he observed that the volume of produce has gone down.

Specifically, almost all vegetable production has declined, namely eggplants, bitter gourd (ampalaya), beans, lettuce, Chinese pechay, cucumber, ginger, and tomato. He said that due to the low volume of production, an increase in prices was also observed.

According to Gesta, one of the contributory factors affecting the decline in production is the practice of lessening the volume of seeds being planted when the dry season approaches. He added that before the summer season nears, they advise farmers to reduce the number of seeds planted to avoid damage.

"Simbako og mapareho ta last year nga mag-El Niño napud, grabe na ang damage nga mahitabo," said Gesta.

He added that they also emphasize this orientation, especially for farms where the water supply recedes during the summer heat. Gesta then said that since most farmers supply big hotels and restaurants, they prioritize these establishments, trimming supplies to the local markets.

Since Carbon Market depends on supplies from outside Cebu City, such as Cagayan de Oro and Canlaon City, Gesta observed that even these supplies have also reduced.

"So ang effect, nisaka g’yud ang presyo," said Gesta.

He added that a more glaring price hike has been observed among ampalaya, ginger, and cucumber, since these crops usually have more production on regular days. Gesta explained that even these three have been affected by the decline in supply.

Overall, Gesta estimated that the average price hike is about 40%, while production volume has declined by approximately 50%.

Aside from this, Gesta said another contributory factor is the damage caused by the dry season. According to him, some farmers have faced difficulty producing vegetables due to the absence of rainfall and reduction of water sources.

Gesta said they began to feel the reduction of supply just in the month of May and added that this may continue until the end of the month.

"Hopefully lang mosud ang mga produce sa Negros ug Mindanao," said Gesta. (CEBU NEWS)