Aggie dept convenes cassava buyers to tackle pricing concerns

 

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Focused on discussing fair and sustainable pricing levels for cassava buyers and producers alike, the Department of Agriculture – Regional Field Office 10 (DA-10), through its Corn Program, convened major buyers of fresh cassava tubers across Region 10 in a dialogue held Tuesday, July 8, at the agency compound, here.

The meeting brought key cassava processors, including Bio Green Processing and Manufacturing, Inc., Phil Agro Industrial, Corp., San Miguel Foods, Inc., and Ricor Mills, Corp., to tackle the prevailing purchase rates for the said commodity, which now range between PhP3.20 to PhP4.50 per kilogram.

Buyers cited several factors influencing buying price, including global cassava pricing trends, absorptive capacity of local warehouses, availability of cheaper imported cassava starch, crop surpluses during peak harvests, existing marketing agreements, among other concerns.

Despite these challenges, stakeholders expressed their shared concern for cassava producers, imploring the DA-10 to advocate for stricter regulation of cassava imports and increased government assistance for cassava producers to curb the impact of low buying prices.

For its part, the agency has committed to submitting a memo brief, highlighting the outcomes of the dialogue to bring the issue to the national level for preferential attention.# (JLO)