The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) have intensified their joint monitoring of basic commodities’ prices, particularly of rice and pork, in the National Capital Region (NCR), as reports of overpricing persisted.
In a statement on Sunday, the DA said this inter-agency initiative meant to curb overpricing and protect consumers was rolled out to ensure compliance with the government’s maximum suggested retail prices (MSRPs) for essential food items.
The DA said in one of the recent Bantay Presyo market monitoring operations led by Bebang Guevarra, the DA assistant secretary for agribusiness, marketing and consumer affairs, the team observed that liempo was being sold for P420 to P440 per kilo, and kasim/pigue for P370 to P380, prices that clearly exceeded the MSRPs of P380 and P350 per kilo, respectively.
“This is alarming, especially since the farmgate price of pork remains around P250 to P255,” Guevarra said.
Guevarra said that during consultative meetings with Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., hog producers pledged to keep farmgate prices at a maximum P230 a kilo to put a lid on retail pork prices.
The DA did not divulge the markets covered by intensified monitoring but urged retailers to align their prices with government guidelines, especially since certain delivery costs have already decreased.
Guevarra did not elaborate but said the DA has been leading a comprehensive review of the pork value chain, from farmgate pricing and slaughterhouse operations to trading, retail and end-consumer pricing, to identify key cost drivers at every stage, and recommend policy and market interventions that would benefit both producers and consumers.
The DA said Bantay Presyo market monitoring teams from the agency, DTI, Philippine National Police, local government units, Bureau of Animal Industry, National Meat Inspection Service and Food Terminal Inc. will continue conducting market inspections to ensure fair pricing of basic necessities and prime commodities.
