SINAG to DA: Make compliance to MSRP mandatory

Farmers' group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) on Monday called on the Department of Agriculture to implement mandatory compliance to the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) amid high pork prices.

Based on their monitoring, SINAG executive director Jayson Cainglet said the MSRP is not being enforced in some markets, with pork products being sold as high as P400 per kilo.

Last week, the DA set the MSRP on pork in Metro Manila in a bid to shield consumers from high prices amid the Christmas season.

Under a new administrative circular, pork liempo will be capped at P370 per kilo, while kasim and pigue will be priced no higher than P330 per kilo, effective December 5, across public and private wet markets in the National Capital Region.

"Ang sinasabi sana natin na ito pong MSRP ay may malinaw na enforcement,"  Cainglet told Super Radyo dzBB .

(We are asking for a clear enforcement of the MSRP.)

"May ngipin ang executive order (EO) o memorandum ng DA para mapasunod natin ang mga players, meaning mga byahero o retailers na sumunod," he said.

(The EO or DA memorandum should have teeth so we can require the players, meaning the retailers and middlemen, to adhere to it.)

The farmgate price of pork currently stands at P170 lower than the regular farmgate price of P210, according to SINAG. 

"Baka kaya walang sumusunod kasi wala pang nasasampolan. Baka this time, kailangan na masampolan. Kasi ang suggested nakikisuyo ka lang, baka dapat talaga mandatory ang position para mapasunod sila," Cainglet said.

(They may not be complying to the MSRP because no one has been sanctioned yet. Maybe, to them, MSRP is only a suggestion so they should make it mandatory.)

While they admit to low sales of pork even amid the Christmas season, SINAG said retailers and middlemen will not suffer losses if they will follow the MSRP. Cainglet said non-compliance to the MSRP should be covered by the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Law, which prohibits profiteering.

"Ang kailangan ay enforcement lalo na sa bahagi ng LGUs [local government units] kasi kung aasahan ang DA at DTI [Department of Trade and Industry] talagang medyo hirap sila sa monitoring. Mas LGUs and dapat tumulong sa national agencies," said Cainglet.

(The LGUs should help in the enforcement because if we will only rely to DA and DTI, it would be a challenge for them to strictly monitor the prices. It would be better for the LGUs to aid the national agencies.) —AOL, GMA Integrated News