Prices of vegetables from Northern Luzon may increase by about 23 to 25 percent during the rainy season, and worse if the predicted La Niña phenomenon from July to September hits the area hard, a National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) official warned the public.
Based on NEDA records, vegetable prices usually go up especially in Metro Manila during the rainy season, since a big portion of the vegetable consumption in the metropolis come from the Ilocos provinces and Pangasinan (Region I) and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), NEDA Director General Dennis Arroyo said.
From 2007 to 2009, according to Arroyo, prices of vegetables coming from CAR rose by 23.3 percent during the rainy season, while those from the Ilocos region rose by 25.1 percent.
The NEDA chief said the same price hikes may occur again this coming rainy season, adding that the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) of the incoming administration must immediately come up with scenarios and recommend plans in response to the possible impact of the La Niña phenomenon.
La Niña is the popular name for the so-called “cold phase" of the El Niño phenomenon. During a La Niña period, tropical cyclones and monsoon rainfall tend to become more intense in East and Southeast Asia.
Arroyo said it is difficult to predict the impact of the forthcoming La Niña as compared to the destructive effects of cyclones Ondoy and Pepeng, but the “freak" storms of 2009 should lead the government to play safe by anticipating worst-case scenarios and revise its targets as needed.
“It’s [freak weather] among the possibilities because you also had La Niña in the past and wala namang nakitang effect na tragic (no tragic effect was seen) but it’s good to be ready for such scenarios," he said.
“They should map out these scenarios and then plan what should be done regarding drainage, regarding pumping water, regarding evacuation, regarding flood control and all that," the NEDA chief added.
A succession of cyclones last year, with Ondoy and Pepeng as the worst, resulted in massive flooding, leading to loss of lives and property, landslides and disruption of transport and basic services in northern, central and southern Luzon, including Metro Manila.—JV
