SENATE Majority Leader Francis N. Tolentino called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday to investigate the high cost of ginger, which he says makes the preparation of food like fish more expensive for Filipinos.
“When you buy fish, it’s natural to buy ginger. Even if fish prices go down, the high cost of ginger offsets it,” he said in a statement. “P320 [per kilo]? It was just P220 last week. That’s incredibly expensive.”
National Statistician Claire Dennis S. Mapa said last week the higher price of ginger was driven by the consumer price index picking up to 3.9% year on year in May from 3.8% a year earlier. It was the fastest inflation since 4.1% in November and 3.9% in December.
Last week, the DA’s price watch reported that the average ginger price in Metro Manila hit P280 per kilogram on May 31. — John Victor D. Ordoñez