Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said Wednesday the government will blacklist 43 garlic importers for failing to import the commodity amid high demand that eventually led to excessive prices in the domestic market. Piñol said the Philippines was imports about 93 percent of its garlic requirements and about 70 percent of its onion requirements. He said the government was ramping up efforts to improve local garlic production. Piñol said a lending program was also being prepared for onion and garlic farmers. This involves the support for traditional production areas of onion and garlic production and the development of new production areas in other parts of the country.

Source: The Standard July 12, 2017 12:00 UTC