Kidapawan City – Prices of fruits like Lanzones, Mangosteen, Durian and Rambutan have dropped by almost 70% from pre-harvest levels but fruit farmers are not really complaining.
This is the reality of the fresh fruits industry because harvest is almost simultaneous during the months of August up to early October.
This is something that fruit farmers understand and all that they could do is pray that their trees would fruit earlier than the others because off-season fruits command higher prices.
So from a high of P150 per kilo, Mangosteen now sells at P30 while Longkong Lanzones which fetched P300 per kilo a month ago is now being sold at P80.
This the perfect example of the economic theory that when there is an abundance of supply, prices will drop.
Perhaps, this was the same theory that was in the mind of the economists when they proposed and succeeded in flooding the market with imported rice.
In fact, one economist projected that with an abundance of rice supply in the market, prices would fall to as low as P27 per kilo.
“Let the market forces work,” the economists said.
Alas, they failed to realize that unlike fruits, rice is not easily perishable. Fruits could not be kept for long but rice could be hoarded.
Their simplistic economic theory on market forces missed the reality that in the rice trading business, there are hoarders, market manipulators and the so-called “Rice Cartel,” an informal cabal of unscrupulous traders who agree to set buying and selling prices.
So today, while the market is flooded with imported rice, the selling price of rice has barely dropped.
In fact, since traders found that importing rice is more profitable, convenient and less risky, many have opted not to buy locally produced paddy rice, pushing down the price of Filipino farmers’ produce from a high of P20 per kilo last year to as low as P12 to P14 today.
This is one case where economic theories ran smack and got kayoed by the realities of the rice industry, the country’s staple food and a hot political issue, as well.
Perhaps, it is best for some economists to look beyond the graph and get out of their air-conditioned offices to see reality.
Also, they should not be obstinate and show humility by admitting that not all economic theories work in the real world.
Besides, there is only one law which could not be improved or amended – the Divine Law.
(Photos taken in my farm this morning. With an abundance of Lanzones and Mangostee, I won’t be making much but I understand realities.)
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