PHL deemed most vulnerable in ASEAN due to extreme temperatures, weather

THE PHILIPPINES is the Southeast Asian country most exposed to extreme temperatures and weather, putting the agriculture and food industries at risk, an industry group said.

“Among five of the largest ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries — Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, the Philippines is the most vulnerable to the rising temperatures and extreme weather,” Anna Beatrice B. Baldonado, public affairs manager (Philippines) for Food Industry Asia (FIA), said at a briefing on Thursday.

Climate change was responsible for a 6% increase in the country’s food prices in the last decade, according to a report, “The Economic Impact of the Agri-food Sector in the Philippines,” issued by Oxford Economics.

Climate-driven weather events and energy transition costs may drive up the region’s food prices by as much as 59% in the coming years, the report also noted. 

“This is because of both its exposure to typhoons, floods, and heat stress, as well as its weaker capacity to buffer shocks in domestic production,” the think tank said.

Ms. Baldonado noted that uncertainties in US’ trade policy and the energy crisis could also accelerate food inflation.

“In an increasingly challenging operating environment, food price inflation is one of the major risk for the sector itself. Being a net importer, and with the US being one of our largest trading partners, definitely we will be affected,” she said.

Food inflation accelerated to 6.1% in April from 2.7% a month earlier and 0.7% a year earlier, driven mainly by rice prices, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported.

“We should expect, in the next couple of years, more disruption to the open and rules-based trading system, not just regionally but also globally,” she said.

The report also noted a global GDP could be reduced by 2.3% by global trade uncertainties.

In 2025, the agri-food industries accounted for $164.6 billion of Philippine gross domestic product (GDP), Oxford Economics said, generating $20.7 billion in tax revenue and 18.8 million jobs. 

Agricultural production contributes $55.4 billion to national GDP, while food & beverage manufacturing and distribution contributes $71.3 billion and $37.9 billion, respectively.

Oxford Economics was commissioned by the ASEAN Food and Beverage Alliance and the FIA to conduct the study. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz