There is a stable supply of fertilizer for the agriculture sector in the country despite the conflict between Israel and Iran, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Wednesday.

The DA made the statement amid concerns on the potential impact of the tensions on shipping in the Gulf region, where Qatar, one of the major suppliers of fertilizers, is located.

In an interview, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the country has a sufficient supply of fertilizer, which may prevent spikes in local prices.

“Well, as of the moment, because of the Israel-Iran war, we’ve computed iyong days to last ng fertilizer sa Pilipinas (the days to last in the Philippines). And luckily, ang biddings kasi natin ng fertilizer at saka paggamit, usually one year. So marami tayong stocks hanggang (our biddings of fertilizers and their utilization, usually one year. So, we have many stocks until the) end of this year,” he said.

“So hopefully, if things die down before the end of the year, things will go back to normal.”

Tiu Laurel assured that the Philippines has alternative sources of fertilizers such as Russia and Brunei Darussalam.

Besides a stable supply of fertilizers, the agri official also assured that no “exponential” spike in prices of agricultural commodities is expected.

“Kapag tumaas ang petrolyo, tataas lahat (When petroleum goes up, everything will also rise). So, there is expected increase,” Tiu Laurel said.

“Although, I believe iyong pagtaas ng presyo ngayon ng mahigit piso, hindi naman exponential iyong epekto (the increase of prices of over PHP1 will not have an exponential effect).”

Tiu Laurel said the minimal price movements in petroleum prices will not result in unreasonable market speculation. (PNA)