The Department of Agriculture announced that the Cabinet has approved the formation of a government task force on economic intelligence that will go after market manipulators.
The plan was approved on Wednesday during a meeting of officials in the Executive branch, said the government agency. This will take care of the problem with price manipulators, smugglers and hoarders of pork and live hogs, it added.
According to the DA, “Initially, the task force will go after unscrupulous traders, viajeros, and wholesalers — who have unreasonably jacked up the prices of hogs and pork, hovering at more than ₱400 per kilogram that persisted even beyond the 2020 Christmas season and despite reduced demand.”
The co-chairs of the team will be the DA and the DTI, while the membership will be composed of the Justice and Interior departments, the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine Competition Commission, Bureau of Customs, National Security Council, and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said in a briefing that President Rodrigo Duterte also approved the recommendation to look into increasing the minimum access volume for pork imports at 54,210 metric tons “to cover the projected shortfall for the year.”
The Secretary assured that this is only a temporary measure to ensure that prices will not rise further and affect inflation.
