Benguet task force pushed vs veggie smuggling at BOC ports

ITOGON, Benguet -- The municipal mayot here is pushing creation of a Benguet anti-smuggling task force to be deployed in Bureau of Customs ports to help monitor entry of smuggled vegetables.
    Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said he was disappointed at the failure of the BoC to prevent and stop smuggling of vegetables which resulted to huge losses of Benguet and Cordillera farmers.
    Smuggled vegetables, mostly from China have been sold in the country at much lower prices posing stiff competition among local producers, vegetable farmers said. 
    With this situation, he added, it is high time the provincial government hire dedicated personnel who will comprise the Benguet anti-smuggling task force to ensure no smuggled vegetables will enter the country that can cause sudden drop in prices of locally grown crops.
    "It results in unnecessary losses in terms of supposed income by the farmers who worked hard to produce the same," the mayor said.
    Palangdan said the task force could be assigned in BOC ports to help them monitor smuggling of vegetables and other agricultural crops that directly compete with locally produced ones.
    The local chief executive said Benguet must have people who know how to value importance of the local agriculture industry, as vegetable farming is the primary source of income of hundreds of thousands of residents living in the province's 13 municipalities.