Business/Economic News Output No: 6

Name: Axel O. Navaritte

Subject: Managerial Ecpnomics
Section: BSA-1C

Smuggling blamed for carrot glut in Benguet

(News Title)

Allan Macatuno, Kiberlie Quitasol

(Name of Author)

1. What is the news all about?

Hundreds of kilos of carrots from farms in Benguet province were distributed

for free at Burnham Park in the run-up to the New Year following an oversupply of the
crop during the holiday season that has caused a strain on local farmers. The surplus
of carrots due to the increased production has been exacerbated by reports of
unabated smuggling of vegetables that continue to hurt local growers, said Agot
Balanoy, spokesperson for the Benguet-based League of Associations at La Trinidad
Vegetable Trading Areas Inc. (LTVTA)
Balanoy said that although the newly harvested carrots were given away for free
on Dec. 29 last year, she described it as an “unfortunate” move of the farmers who are
faced with losses due to the glut. Data gathered by the LTVTA showed that about 8
million kilos of assorted highland vegetables worth about P240 million were unsold
during the Christmas holiday from Dec. 20, 2023 to Dec. 30, 2023, which was
supposed to be the peak season for the local vegetable industry. According to Rural
Rising Philippines (RuRi), a nonprofit group helping distressed local farmers, the price
of carrots at the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post in Benguet has dropped to an all-
time low of P1 per kilo during the holiday season.
“This [drop in prices] forced highland farmers to dump their carrots, or in this
case, give them away,” RuRi said in a Facebook post.The group noted that it was not
“generosity” that drove the farmers to give their crops but the “sad state” of the local
farming industry. RuRi called on the public to help buy the farmers’ carrots that
would be harvested next week to avoid a glut.
Last week, Balanoy and her group asked the government to address the
rampant smuggling of vegetables, mostly from China, during the holiday season after
traders and growers complained about the low demand.She said the illegal entry of
vegetables is “killing the vegetable and agricultural industry,” especially the farmers.

2. What is/are the issues or problematic situations that can be drawn from the
topic?

The problematic situation that can be drawn from the topic is oversupply of
vegetables due to the rampant smuggling of vegetables during the holiday season
leaving the farmers with no choice but to dump their crops or give them away, which
in this case is carrots. This vegetable smuggling has a huge impact on the income of
the local farmers. If this will continue, they might end up having no income at all since
there is an oversupply of crops due to smuggling. This is a very problematic issue
because the farmers spent a lot of money in planting and harvesting their crops. Some
of them even borrowed money for the production of crops, only to end up being
donated or thrown away. If this smuggling issue continues, our local farming industry
might collapse,

3. As a business manager/economic leader, what recommendations can you

propose in order to address the above-stated issues or problems?

In order to reduce the oversupply of crops, the government should limit the
importation of vegetables during harvest season. There should also be a thorough
inspection of everything that comes in on our country, both in air and water to ensure
that there is no vegetable or crops being smuggled. As for the market, they should
have a connection to our local farmers in order to help them introduce their crops to
the consumers. This way, the crops of the local farmers will be prioritized over the
imports allowing them to have income especially during the holidays season. We
should do everything that we can to help our local farming industry because they are
the reason why we have foods on our table.