Garlic and onions cost several folds higher in the Philippines compared to Thailand, former Sen. Kiko Pangilinan noted during his Bangkok trip last September.
In a tweet, Pangilinan shared that the price of garlic in Thailand is 50 baht (P 78.81) per kilo.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, a kilo of local garlic costs P350, based on the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) price monitoring.
On the other hand, Thailand’s onion costs 35 baht (P55.05) per kilo. In the country, this is priced at P200 based on the same DA report.
Among 89 countries, the Philippines has the highest cost of onion, based on the June 2022 report of the Global Product Prices.
In September, the country’s annual inflation quickened to 6.9% from 6.3% in August, reflecting higher food prices, the statistics agency said.
RELATED: Philippines inflation quickens to 6.9% in September
Agriculture fund
The former senate committee chairman for agriculture, food, and agrarian reform also noted that the budget of the Thailand government is twice higher compared to the Philippine budget.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s agriculture budget is three-fold of the country’s allocation, Pangilinan added.
For 2023, the budget for the DA, Department of Agrarian Reform, and the National Irrigation Authority amounted to P184 billion.
This is a 39.2% increase in the agricultural sector’s budget, but this is still not enough, according to Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas Chairman Emeritus Rafael Mariano.
“While this amount increased, it is still far from what is needed to truly develop the state of Philippine agriculture and the sectors depending on it,” Mariano said in a statement.
“There is money for agriculture, but this does not reach the farmers. [The] Agriculture budget must trickle down to farmers and food producers,” Mariano was quoted in a Bulatlat report.
(฿1= P1.57; Figures from Google exchange rate)
RELATED: ‘Walang guisado?’: Garlic, onion shortage makes Filipinos cry
