MORE FLOODS | Residents in Marilao town in Bulacan province wade through its flooded streets near pillars for the overhead MRT 7 rail line on Saturday. The weather bureau warns of more rains in the coming days from Tropical Storm “Falcon” (international name: Khanun), which is now east of Luzon over the Philippine Sea. (Photo by LYN RILLON / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Typhoon Egay (international name: Doksuri), which ravaged parts of Luzon and Visayas in less than a week, wiped out P1.3 billion worth of agricultural products, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Saturday.
In its latest bulletin, the DA said the typhoon took a heavy toll on the livelihood of 91,268 farmers and fisherfolk in the affected areas.
The volume of production loss was placed at 62,259 metric tons spanning 98,969 hectares of agricultural lands.
“The increase is due to the updated reports from Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Western Visayas, and Central Luzon,” it said.
Egay destroyed rice, corn, high-value crops, livestock, and poultry as well as agricultural facilities and fishing paraphernalia.
Corn accounted for 47.5 percent of the total with P648.2 million, hitting 38,401 metric tons of produce in 58,497 hectares of land.
Rice followed with P486.8 million, equivalent to a share of 35.7 percent, and high-value crops with P182.4 million (13.3 percent).
Agricultural infrastructures sustained P20.8 million in damage, fisheries P14.1 million, and livestock and poultry P11.9 million.
Egay’s impact on the farm sector as of this writing was inching closer to the P1.3 billion damage brought about by the low-pressure area, Intertropical Convergence Zone, shear line, and northeast monsoon (amihan) early this year.
Won’t affect prices
Despite the escalating losses due to the typhoon, the DA earlier said Egay won’t affect retail prices and supply of food items since the planted crops were in the early growth stage.
To date, the price of a kilogram of local commercial rice ranged from P37 to P60 as of Friday against last year’s P38 to P50, based on the DA’s price monitoring.
Imported rice retailed from P42 to P58 per kg compared to P38 to P50 per kg. However, imported regular milled rice is not available.
Milkfish (bangus) is being sold from P140 to P240 per kg compared to P160 per kg a year ago. Tilapia is priced from P105 to P160 per kg from only P120 per kg previously.
Local round scad (galunggong) is sold from P220 to P260 per kg, almost the same as P240 per kg last year.
Imported round scad, available only in Guadalupe Market, is priced at P200 per kg. Indian mackerel (alumahan) is not available.
Bittergourd (ampalaya) is priced from P90 to P140 per kg from only P80 per kg a year ago while the price of eggplant reached P70 to P120 per kg from P90 per kg last year.
Cabbage ranged from P100 to P160 per kg compared to only P60 per kg the previous year.