High prices of fuels, rice, other prime commodities to affect non-food businesses

High prices of rice, fuels, and other prime commodities will affect non-food businesses, said Frank Carbon, chief executive officer of Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Rice prices have increased a minimum of P10 per kilo, while the prices of fuel have also increased for three consecutive weeks this month, which also affected the prices of basic essentials in the market.

Carbon said minimum wage earners and lower income bracket workers will only prioritize food, provision (ba-on), and fares for their children since it's already back to school.

"Because of the situation, non-food businesses may opt for rotation of their employees, and worst, it may lead to retrenchments of some employees," Carbon said.

He pointed out that the government failed to anticipate the rice situation. “Because India will no longer export rice, other countries like us will also buy rice in Thailand or Vietnam, which may lead to a shortage of supply,” Carbon added.

Earlier, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said that the province needs more rice production to cushion the looming shortage due to global demand and calamities.

“We are only 84 percent rice sufficient; definitely, we will need rice to come to our province”, he pointed out.

Negros Occidental is known as the “Sugar Capital of the Philippines.

Lacson said, “I think the President was very clear that there will be no rice shortfall. If it’s short of production, I think the resort is to import rice.”

He also said that the problem is when India decides to stop rice exports, as “that alone will affect us.”

Meanwhile, Negros Occidental recorded higher rice yield through the use of certified seeds as part of its initiatives to ensure food security among the Negrenses.

Data from the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) as of last week showed that production increased to an average yield of 97.92 cavans per hectare, from only 89.02 cavans in the past year.*