Garlic supply enough—DA

Farmers are producing enough garlic to keep adobo-loving Filipinos happy till the end of the year, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

“For the first time in years, the Philippines does not need garlic importation to cover market shortage,” the DA said yesterday, citing records submitted by the country’s five leading associations of garlic growers.

Local garlic production grew by 120 percent in the 2012 cropping season from a year ago, rising to 20,000 metric tons against an average 8,000 for the past 20 years, officials said.

The current inventory of locally grown garlic is more than enough to meet consumer demand up to the end of this year, said Arnold Sagon, president of one of the groups, the Itbayat Garlic Producers and Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

Sagon, in a statement, thanked Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and Director Clarito M. Barron of the Bureau of Plant Industry for their support. DJ Yap