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Philippine vegetable prices surge as farmers struggle with transport and storage costs
Filipino traders who transport vegetables from farm to markets also face additional expenses as petrol prices continue to rise following renewed hostilities between US and Iran
- PUBLISHED: Fri 21 Aug 2026, 6:00 AM
It is getting harder for Filipino vegetable vendor Edna Rosacay to explain to customers recent price increases in her commodities. She said she understands that customers ask why vegetable prices have again gone up in the Philippine capital as wages in the country remain stagnant.
“I also know they know that the recent bad weather, closure of roads, and fuel price hikes would affect market prices,” she told Khaleej Times on Thursday.
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There is no shortage in local vegetable supply, however. Piles upon piles of newly-harvested vegetables are waiting to be bought in trading centers in several provinces in the Philippines. But consumers have been enduring steep price hikes.
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Onion prices increased by P50 to P170 (Dh3 to 10.30) per kilo; garlic by P20 to P180 (Dh1.20 to Dh11), potatoes by P30 to P160 (Dh1.81 to Dh9.69), and eggplant by P40 to P160 (Dh2.42 to Dh9.69) in the last three weeks.
The steep price hikes are reflected in most food items, the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) admitted.
The DA has reported that flood damages to crops have reached more than P1 billion (Dh60.6 million) since August 1, also contributing to the increase in their prices. “Normally, in rains such as we are having and damaging vegetable farms, we see 15 per cent price increases,” noted DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa.
The agency spokesperson maintained that vegetables produced in upland farms are not as affected.
Vegetable harvest wastage
The agriculture executive seems to be unaware not only of the price spikes, but also of other problems in the upland farms he mentioned.
On Sunday, tons of carrots and cabbages were dumped in Tublay town in Benguet province by farmers who refused to sell their harvests at low prices. The farmers also said transporting their vegetables to the trading center in La Trinidad town would only entail additional expenses, opting to cut their losses by dumping them on roadsides or letting their crops rot in the plots.
The latest vegetable harvest dump shows that government’s efforts to curb crop wastage are failing, farmers noted.
La Trinidad hosts key post-harvest infrastructure such as the Benguet Cold Chain and the Benguet Agri-Pinoy Trading Centre that have several permanent and modular cold storage facilities.
But most of the facilities lack proper machinery, preventing them from taking in most of the vegetables produced in the region. “Eleven cold storage units are left unused. We only know of two facilities that are being used,” Benguet Farmers’ Cooperative manager Agot Balanoy said.
Balanoy further complained that storage fees are prohibitive and that only two private traders are using the units that are working.
More transportation woes
Traders who transport vegetables from farm to markets are themselves victims of additional costs to their business.
Philippine oil retailers implemented an oil price hike last Tuesday, breaking the brief two-week streak of price rollbacks. Pump prices rose by up to P5 per litre of diesel, gasoline and kerosene after renewed hostilities between US and Iran in the Middle East.
In La Trinidad, diesel retails at nearly P105.72 (Dh6.40) per litre, with dozens of litres needed for the 267-kilometre trip to Manila, excluding about P2,300 in toll fees for medium-sized trucks.
The traders try to recoup additional expenses by lowering their buying prices and increasing their selling prices, to the detriment of both vegetable producers and households.