MANILA — The governor of Batanes on Thursday appealed for the public to buy their garlic in the province, amid an oversupply of this commodity.

Around 20 tons of garlic are available in the province, Batanes Governor Marilou Cayco said.

• Di sasapat ang suplay ng bawang hanggang dulo ng 2022: Dep't of Agri

"Noong ako ay na-interview tungkol sa [typhoon] Henry, sinamantala ko na ang panawagan doon sa mga gustong bumili ng bawang," Cayco said in a televised briefing.

(When I was interviewed about typhoon Henry, I took the opportunity to call for buyers of garlic.)

"Itong bawang na ito ay galing sa Itbayat Island, ang pinakaulong isla ng Pilipinas at pinakamalapit sa Taiwan," she added.

(This garlic comes of Itbayat, the northenmost island of the Philippines which is closes to Taiwan.)

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Cayco said this happened because the Department of Agriculture (DA) this year bought less garlic from Cagayan Valley, where Batanes belongs, so the provincial government bought these instead.

She worried that farmers might be "discouraged" to work if no one would buy their harvests.

Several entities have already ordered garlic from Batanes, with the province already sending out these products to Metro Manila, Isabela, Tuguegarao City, and the Ilocos Region.

In late August, the Bureau of Plant Industry said while the country has a projected demand of 73,000 metric tons of garlic in the second half of the year, it can only supply half of this or nearly 37,000 metric tons, the rest of which are imported.

"We are not sufficient at all when it comes to garlic. We are dependent on importation... insufficiency, admittedly, is a problem we have been facing and improvement in production yield and quality of our garlic is something we have to work on," DA Spokesperson Kristine Evangelista said during a House panel briefing.

The DA has already communicated with the provincial government and an official will go there to speak to farmers, the governor said.

"Para tuwing harvest ay may sigurado na silang buyer," she said.

(So that they have a sure buyer for every harvest.)

— Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News