The country is paying the price for relying on food imports.

 

According to a poultry industry executive, the government's economic managers followed an inadequate import-heavy plan for reaching food sufficiency, which is now being disrupted by the consequences from the Russia-Ukraine crisis. 

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the price of food and non-alcoholic drinks increased by 4.9 percent year on year in May, driven by a 15.2 percent increase in vegetables and tubers and a 6.2 percent increase in fish and shellfish.

“Our economic managers and the Department of Agriculture (DA) believe that the template for us is Singapore, which is 90% dependent on food imports and yet is food-secure,” United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA) President Elias Jose M. Inciong said in a phone interview.

Because economic managers believed that "for food security, we can rely on imports," the agri-fisheries business has been overlooked since our admission to the World Trade Organization. In a nutshell, the template will be dependent on imports. We are now exposed and in danger. We'll have to pay for that policy over the next few months and years," he added.

The food crisis caused by the conflict between Ukraine and Russia has prompted nations to limit agricultural commodity exports in order to safeguard local supplies. Ukraine is a large producer of grain and edible oils, whereas Russia is a big producer of grain and fertilizer in addition to being a major energy exporter. 

The war has transformed the Black Sea into a battleground, limiting both countries' exports across that body of water. According to Moody's Analytics, in reaction to the food crisis, protectionism is rising throughout the Asia-Pacific region.