Tempers Flaring Over Onions Show Marcos Faces Risk on Prices
- Philippines seeing shortages of everything from salt to sugar
- Government blames traders for hoarding and jacking up prices
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Ferdinand Marcos Jr made a curious move when he became Philippine president-elect in mid-2022: he named himself agriculture minister, pledging to fix the country’s food problems.
The decision showed the political weight of the often unglamorous job, and highlighted the potential risk to the new president. But quick solutions have been hard to find. The Philippines has reported shortages of everything from salt to sugar over the last few months even as the economy grew the fastest since the 1970s last year.