Manila, Philippines – The fallout from the Middle East conflict would likely spill over to other sectors of the economy, including local farms and fisheries, creating food supply bottlenecks, the Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday, March 17.
Agriculture officials told the House committee on agriculture and food that fertilizer costs have already risen by up to 30 percent, adding to farmers’ input costs that are already being burdened by runaway global oil prices.
The country, the agency said, sources about a fifth of its fertilizer needs from the Middle East: 15 percent from Qatar and 4 percent from Saudi – two Arab nations heavily pounded by Iran’s air strikes.
“For the Philippines which is an import-dependent country for several key commodities, this geopolitical shock poses a serious risk not only to food affordability, but even food availability,” Agriculture Undersecretary Roger Navarro told lawmakers convening to tackle the impact of the conflict on food supply and prices.
The country needs 742,000 metric tons of fertilizer (urea) annually and the current stockpile is just 86,299 metric tons, the agency said.
With the Middle East crisis upsetting global trade, and routes, “higher cost of transactions and logistics for imported agricultural products is also expected,” Navarro said.
“The natural tendencies of countries to prioritize their own requirements and increase buffer stock is likely to limit available supply products for the traditional food exporters,” the agriculture official pointed out.
Of the major agricultural commodities, rice accounts for nearly half of the 505 million liters of fuel total fuel requirements across commodities, agency data showed. The agriculture sector, which counts corn and sugar production, spends roughly P41 billion for fuel a year, it added.
The agency has allotted ₱10 billion for farmers and fisherfolk in cash aid this year under the Presidential Assistance to Farmers and Fisherfolk program funded by the 2026 budget.
Under that spending plan, farmers and fisherfolk will get ₱2,325 each come May, with over four million listed beneficiaries.
Separately, the agency is distributing ₱5,000 in fuel subsidy to the sector financed from the unused portion of the 2025 budget.
