A fishing tycoon was given the position of agriculture secretary by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos on Friday, as the government tries to control the country’s soaring food costs.
After the new secretary was sworn in, Marcos stated that Francisco Laurel, president of the deep-sea fishing firm Frabelle Fishing Corporation, was aware of “the problems that agriculture is facing”.
After taking office in June 2022, Marcos appointed himself secretary of agriculture and has since presided over a spike in the cost of crops, including basic foods like rice and onions.
When he placed a temporary price cap on rice in September, he provoked criticism because some experts said it would cause market distortion and shortages.
Acquiring “control of the prices of all the agricultural commodities that are going up” was Laurel’s top aim, according to Marcos.
September saw a 10% increase in food costs, which caused year-over-year inflation to jump from 5.3 percent in August to 6.1 percent.
According to official statistics, the agriculture sector employs over 25% of the labor force in the nation but contributes less than 10% of the GDP.
The industry has long been beset by issues like as low yields, high costs, a lack of investment in technology and irrigation, restricted access to cold storage facilities and farm-to-market routes, and typhoons that destroy crops.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, outbreaks of pests and skyrocketing oil and fertilizer prices have only made matters worse.
Laurel, 56, stated that his objective was to guarantee that food was accessible to consumers “at the right price” and that Filipino farmers would have plentiful harvests.
Frabelle Fishing Corporation is a subsidiary of a conglomerate that produces food, real estate, and electricity.
On its website, it states that it operates a fleet of more than 100 vessels in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans.
