Foreign Aid The Downside

[sonjack2847]

I have seen over the past few weeks the price of rice,potatoes,eggs,chicken and other thing go up. This time last year for example I could get imported potatoes for 40-50 peso a kilo, now they are 85-100 a kilo. This all seems to be stemming from the fact that the aid agencies are buying bulk amounts of food and are causing shortages. This does not really affect me that much but there are lots of Filipino`s who are on very low wages and it is hitting them hard. To me this is a catch 22 situation where they are helping the victims of Yolanda but inadvertently affecting the rest of the poor population.Damned if you do damned in you don`t.

[i am bob]

During my military career, I saw this happen time after time again and in many different countries. Each time a national disaster struck, the aid groups purchased much of their supplies off the economy and created short falls and this induced inflation that affected the poor. Most of these groups really could care less how much damage they themselves cause. Absolutely disgusting.

Sent by using a very long piece of string, a couple tin cans, 2 gaseous monkeys, Tapatalk and my Nexus 4

Edited January 12, 2014 by I am bob

[Old55]

I have seen over the past few weeks the price of rice,potatoes,eggs,chicken and other thing go up. This time last year for example I could get imported potatoes for 40-50 peso a kilo, now they are 85-100 a kilo. This all seems to be stemming from the fact that the aid agencies are buying bulk amounts of food and are causing shortages. This does not really affect me that much but there are lots of Filipino`s who are on very low wages and it is hitting them hard. To me this is a catch 22 situation where they are helping the victims of Yolanda but inadvertently affecting the rest of the poor population.Damned if you do damned in you don`t.

This is a fact. My family runs a small store they have seen prices go up. Now the poor are doing without.

[Mike S]

But .... But .... this can't be true the Phils received millions of dollars and aid from foreign countries ..... you don't mean to tell me that someone or thing is pilfering all that stuff ..... say it ain't so .....  :mocking:  :mocking:  :mocking:  :mocking: 

:cheersty:

[Fred & Mimi]

This time last year for example I could get imported potatoes for 40-50 peso a kilo, now they are 85-100 a kilo

 

Potatoes were recently 120p a kg in Lilioan. I would think that sweet potato (comote) and taro (gabi) would be the preferred to Filipinos which are much more reasonably priced. Living in Dalaguete, you are blessed with very cheap vegetable prices compared to Liloan and even Argao to a lesser degree. You are still lucky even at 100p a  kilo

[Lobstered]

Food prices are actually very unlikely to be effected by the aid agencies now. By far the biggest provider of food is WFP and one major critism aimed at them is the amount of food they import (a lot of countries give them the food not money to buy food), this leads to a major drop in the price of  food. In most disaster effected areas you will see piles of WFP food being sold in local markets at very cheap prices. By now most of the other agencies will have moved away from food provision to livelihood recovery and helping people be in a position to grow their own crops or earn a livelihood to purchase their own food.

 

Other areas like shelter materials you definitely do see a big increase in prices as local merchants profit on the needs. But the urgency of the needs means that this increase is paid by the agencies. There is a cap on how much prices can be increased as if local prices become more expensive than importing the items then the agencies will import them.

 

As someone who used to work for an aid agency for  15 years I can say that the comment that agencies do not care about prices increases and the effect on the local community is not true. Agencies will spend a lot of time carrying out market survey's so they know what the prices of items are and how they are reacting. Also in a place like the Philippines where a lot have a permanent presence they will have contracts in place with suppliers so that the prices are fixed which greatly reduces the ability for local suppliers to make exceptional profits from the situation.

 

Yes there are bad agencies who do not care but they tend to be small and their impact on the market would be relatively minimal.

[Jollygoodfellow]

I have seen over the past few weeks the price of rice,potatoes,eggs,chicken and other thing go up. This time last year for example I could get imported potatoes for 40-50 peso a kilo, now they are 85-100 a kilo. This all seems to be stemming from the fact that the aid agencies are buying bulk amounts of food and are causing shortages. This does not really affect me that much but there are lots of Filipino`s who are on very low wages and it is hitting them hard. To me this is a catch 22 situation where they are helping the victims of Yolanda but inadvertently affecting the rest of the poor population.Damned if you do damned in you don`t.

 

 

just wondering as for the imported potatoes, could it be a seasonal thing from where they were sourced causing higher prices?

[jpbago]

The prices and costs of many things has gone up in the past few years but the daily wage for casual workers has stayed the same at 160 p. The poor get poorer.

[Mike S]

We have noticed that the price of veggies like cauliflower ..... broccoli and a few others have gone through the ceiling in the past year .... in Cebu we used to have them at least once a month but not now as I refuse to pay the ridiculous price they are now asking .... but then maybe it is because we are now living in Negros as apposed to Cebu .... you also have to watch the veggies because they will have worms in them at certain times of the year .... and while I know it is rude to complain about a little additional protein I refuse to be subject to a survival program's culinary cousine ..... :tiphat:  :hystery:  :hystery: 

:cheersty: