DA wants all cold storage facilities registered to address smuggling problems

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said Sunday it is high time for all cold storage facilities to be registered to address the government’s problem with smuggled agricultural products.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, DA deputy spokesperson Rex Estoperez said the cycle wherein traders hoard agricultural products during harvest season and store them in cold storage facilities then release them only when prices hike, should be stopped.

“I think it’s high time. May mga imperfections din tayo sa ating mga system, but it’s high time also na lahat ng cold storage siguro ipa-rehistro na natin,” he said.

(I think it's high time. We also have imperfections in our systems, but it's also high time that all cold storage should be registered.)

Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) on Saturday said the DA and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) should be stricter in monitoring the entry of imported agricultural products in the country.

This came after some P3.9 million worth of allegedly smuggled white onions were confiscated by authorities in Divisoria in Manila.

“P15 to P20 ang onion kapag tag-ani. Magkano ang cost of production niyan, P35. Kinukuha ng mga traders, ilalagay ang pulang sibuyas sa kanilang warehouse. Tapos ‘pag tinignan mo ang kanilang mga bodega, wala. Ano ‘yan, parang paru-paro? Lilipat lipat,” Estoperez said.

(Onions are P15 to P20 when harvested, and their cost of production is P35. The traders take them and put them in their warehouse. However, when you look at their warehouses, there are none because they are being transferred.)

“Ito ngang smuggled, lilipat lipat kapag nahuli natin. Doon sila napupunta sa hindi maayos na cold storage kaya nabubulok kasi hindi hygienic,” he added.

(These smuggled agricultural products rot when they end up in improper cold storage facilities that are unhygienic.)

Estoperez said these confiscated onions were found to be not fit for human consumption, thus they could no longer be sold at Kadiwa stalls at a cheaper price. —KG, GMA Integrated News