Yesterday, some 250 delivery trucks drove through the main road of Benguet to protest the continuous smuggling of vegetables and other crops from China at the expense of local growers. The trucks carried banners calling on authorities to protect farmers by ending the widespread smuggling of vegetables into the country.
Vegetable trader Linda Balanggoy said smuggled crops were still being spotted in major markets in the country despite a Senate investigation into the deluge of smuggled vegetables. Balanggoy said locally grown carrots, while of superior quality, could not compete with the smuggled ones sold at a cheaper price. The caravan headed to La Trinidad Trading Post where farmers and vegetable traders signed a “unity statement” denouncing the continued smuggling of carrots from China.
