Gov’t, garlic growers eye production boost

MANILA, Philippines - The government and the private sector are looking to expand garlic production in the next cropping season to prevent supply problems in the future.

Jennifer Remoquillo, director of the Department of Agriculture’s High Value Crops Development Program (HVCDP), said the agency is looking for some 3,000 hectares of new areas that can be used for planting garlic in the next cropping season that starts in October.

The HVCDP is eyeing land in Mindoro and Iloilo for the expansion of garlic cultivation areas.

Remoquillo said the establishment of the new cultivation areas would increase domestic garlic production by at least 50 percent.

“We are hoping to double production, but we are looking for the availability of planting materials,” she added.

The crops program would also coordinate with state colleges and universities for the production of tissue cultures for producing disease-free planting materials.

Member companies of the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) are also scouting for some 500 hectares of garlic cultivation areas in the provinces of Tarlac, Nueva Ecija and La Union for contract growing arrangements with farmers.

Investing companies are willing to spend a total of P25 million to put up new production areas.

SINAG president Rosendo So said yesterday that these companies would consolidate the produce and distribute to metro markets.

Retail prices of garlic have risen sharply in major markets in Metro Manila to P290 per kilo for imported and P200 per kilo for local, double the average farm gate price of P100 to P130 per kilo.

The spike in prices is believed to be a combination of sustained low domestic production and the refusal of traders to source from local producers.

In a press briefing on Monday, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said the department is also looking into suspicions that traders are holding substantial volumes of garlic.

“We will investigate if there are persons who have cornered the supply. We will see if traders have the supply of both local and imported garlic,” he said.

To lower garlic prices in metro markets, the DA has put up rolling stores in Metro Manila to assist farmers’ cooperatives in distributing their produce without the need for middlemen.

The DA is also mulling the issuance of import permits for around 46,000 metric tons of garlic, which will satisfy half of the annual domestic demand of more than 100,000 MT.

Filipino farmers only produce around 9,000 MT annually, meeting only a tenth of the annual demand.