The Department of Agriculture (DA) is reviewing the possible imposition of a suggested retail price (SRP) for ornamental plants amid the reported overpricing by some sellers.
“‘Yan po ay pag-aaralan ng Department of Agriculture through the Bureau of Plant Industry… Sana naman po ay huwag natin pagsamantalahan ang ating kababayan (The Department of Agriculture through the Bureau of Plant Industry will look into it… We should not take advantage of our countrymen),” DA ASec. Noel Reyes urged.
Some vendors explained that prices have gone up due to the increase in demand and some varieties of plants are becoming scarce.
“I-consider naman po ng government iyong mga expenses na ginagastos namin like toll gate [fees] … Nakaayos po siya, naka-pot, at the same time po may pumice na kaming nilalagay kapag tinurn over namin sa client (The government should also consider our expenses such as toll gate [fees]… The plants are also arranged in pots with pumice when turned over to clients),” Greens by the City owner Joyce Salao appealed.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) also reminded plant vendors to register their businesses.
Meanwhile, the Biodiversity Management Bureau warned the public to avoid careless picking of plants from the forest for the purpose of selling.
“Hindi ka basta pwedeng pumunta sa bundok para manguha ng halaman. Baka in the process ma-destroy mo iyong ating mga endemic wildlife species, especially the flora (You cannot just go to the mountains to get plants because you might destroy our endemic wildlife species, especially the flora),” Biodiversity Management Bureau ASec. Ricardo Calderon advised. – Report from Cleizl Pardilla
