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Sam Beltran

After a seven-hour drive to a trading post in northern Philippines, 35-year-old farmer Elmer Ullani took home nothing but an empty petrol tank even after selling 10 tonnes of cabbage.
Ullani, who hails from the northern town of Tinoc in Ifugao province, said he only managed to sell his produce – yielded over three harvest rounds – at a paltry rate of 8 to 9 pesos (15 US cents) per kilogram, earning him a total of 90,000 pesos (US$1,482).
All of his earnings went towards covering his fuel expenses and a capital of 200,000 pesos.
“During my first harvest, all the money I earned went to fuel. Diesel has become very expensive here,” Ullani told This Week in Asia.
With diesel now costing 125 pesos per litre in his remote town, Ullani spent about 8,750 pesos on 70 litres of diesel to haul his harvest to the trading post.
“I don’t even have any left to pay those who helped harvest the crops,” he said.


The distressing experience prompted Ullani to spell out a striking sign using his produce: “Stop US-Iran War”.
The sign on the side of Ullani’s truck is both a protest and a cry for help, highlighting how skyrocketing fuel prices in the Philippines have begun affecting other sectors, particularly agriculture.
The photo was shared by Rural Rising Philippines, a non-profit initiative that helps distressed farmers sell their produce through fair trade and connects them directly to buyers.
The Philippines imports about 90 per cent of its oil, leaving it highly exposed to global price shocks that feed directly into transport and food costs, according to a recent report by Dutch financial institution ING.
ING’s report said the Philippines could see a stronger hit in inflation from the impact of higher oil prices, as rising logistics and transport expenses fed into consumer prices.
“Our capital didn’t come from the government. It came from us. It feels like the government doesn’t really care since they didn’t invest in what we planted,” Ullani said, adding that he hoped that someone would take notice of their plight.
Many are facing similar challenges. A farmer and social media content creator who calls himself Torogi Blue lamented that fine local produce was being left to rot by the roadside.
“Farmers are at a huge loss because vegetable prices are dropping as diesel goes up,” he said. “They would further reach negative if they bring their produce to a trading post so others have left their harvest to rot or been abandoned on a roadside.”

Stacked against farmers
While the plight of farmers in Ifugao province is common among agricultural workers across the country, the fuel crisis has exacerbated the struggles to sell off their crops, according to Ace Estrada, co-founder of Rural Rising Philippines.
“This problem existed even before the fuel price increases. Prices were already low due to overproduction, especially for cabbage. Now, it’s worse because fuel is expensive. Farmers have no incentive to harvest,” Estrada told This Week in Asia.
One farmer, he said, had 200kg of broccoli ready for harvest but left it all untouched as the amount was “too little to justify hiring labour, too little to justify fuel costs, and too unlikely to sell at a good price”.
Estrada lamented that farmers’ plight only gained notice during times of crisis.
“But the underlying problem never changes. Farmers cannot access markets. People criticise them for wasting produce, but you can’t expect them to process goods into jam or packaged products. That’s not their role,” he said.


Estrada and his wife, Andie, founded Rural Rising Philippines during the pandemic in 2020, after encountering farmers in their hometown of Benguet province giving away their produce on the streets due to market disruptions from Covid-19.
Middlemen traders, who normally bought vegetables from trading posts up north and hauled them seven hours south to Manila, could not travel due to restrictions. Some offered incredibly low prices that prevented farmers from recouping their capital.
Today, the problem persists but in a different form.
“Farmers have only one reliable way to sell: through middlemen. It’s very rare for them to sell directly to Metro Manila markets. With high fuel costs, it’s nearly impossible for them to transport goods themselves and still make a profit,” Estrada said, adding that the system was stacked against farmers.
“We’re not demonising middlemen. They’re necessary, but the system needs regulation.”
Before the fuel price increase, farmers sold broccoli for 80 to 100 pesos per kilogram. That has now been slashed to between 40 and 50 pesos.
“At that level, the farmer will lose money just harvesting,” Estrada said.

He urged the government to establish a floor price for agricultural products to cover production costs and ensure at least a 20 per cent profit.
“Otherwise, farming won’t remain a viable livelihood,” he said.
Rural Rising Philippines has maintained its prices, aiming to sell most of its produce to Manila-based buyers at 99 pesos per kilogram.
The group has tried adapting to rising fuel prices by coordinating harvest timing and maximising pickup times so different crops can be transported together, but Estrada says challenges remain.
While government support was crucial, Estrada also urged consumers to take advantage of low prices and support ailing farmers by buying their produce.
“Vegetables are now cheaper than meat. That could push people towards local agriculture and help farmers … Because if local farming collapses, we’ll all suffer. Imports will be too expensive and we’ll have nowhere to source food,” he said.
Last week, the Department of Agriculture announced it would roll out a fuel subsidy to help farmers offset the high prices.
Ullani says he is not hopeful.
“We’ve seen the subsidy on the news, but nothing has reached us. We’re not counting on it,” he said.
Despite the tough times, the farmer said he would continue planting.
“I have been doing this since I was a child. This is the only way we know how to survive. Farming is what we call a ‘lawful gamble’.”


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The Philippines

Filipino farmer pleads ‘Stop US-Iran War’ after soaring fuel prices wipe out earnings

Philippine farmer Elmer Ullani spells out “Stop US-Iran War” with his cabbages after having to spend almost all of the money he had earned at the market to pay for the fuel needed to get him there and back. Photo: Facebook / Elmer Ullani

Workers change the price label of fuel at a petrol station in Manila on March 17. The Philippines imports about 90 per cent of its oil, leaving it highly exposed to global price shocks. Photo: AFP

A vendor (centre) receives payment for vegetables sold at a market in Malabon City, Metro Manila, on Monday. Photo: EPA

Trump stays popular in Philippines despite Iran war fuel crisis

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr gives a press conference on the Philippines’ national energy emergency at Malacanang Palace in Manila on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

A worker uses black tape to adjust the prices on a digital sign board that cannot accommodate additional digits at a petrol in Quezon City, Philippines, on Tuesday. Photo: AP 

Protesters hold signs calling for the resignation of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr during an anti-corruption rally in Quezon City in November. Photo: EPA

Protesters opposing the Iran war pour oil on images of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and US President Donald Trump during a rally at a petrol station in Quezon City on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

A “not available” sign is seen posted on a pump at a petrol station in Quezon City, the Philippines, on Thursday amid fuel shortages. Photo: Reuters

Philippine fuel prices hit record highs as food inflation fears grow

Protesters hold signs opposing fuel price increases in Manila, the Philippines, on Friday. Photo: EPA

A petrol station in Quezon City, the Philippines, shows diesel prices written on pieces of paper on Thursday as its digital board was not designed to accommodate the number of digits. Photo: AP

A worker gestures to indicate “no petrol” after the petrol station temporarily closed when it ran out of fuel while waiting for a new delivery, on March 9 in Quezon City. Photo: AP

Motorcyclists queue to refuel their vehicles at a petrol station in the Philippines, on March 9. Photo: Xinhua

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr (centre) speaks during the distribution of a fuel subsidy to tricycle drivers in Manila on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Philippines’ fuel shock exposes limits of deregulated oil market

Protesters hold slogans that read “Junk the oil deregulation law” during a rally against the recent big oil price increase on Tuesday outside a petrol station in Quezon City, the Philippines. Photo: AP

Motorcyclists queue to refuel at a petrol station in Quezon City, the Philippines, on Monday. Photo: Xinhua

A passenger jeepney driver waits his turn to refuel in Quezon City, the Philippines, on Tuesday , as fewer jeepneys were seen on the road following a sharp fuel price increase. Photo: AP 

Filipino jeepney drivers struggle as oil prices surge: ‘what we earn goes to diesel’

A protester holds a slogan that reads “scrap the oil deregulation law” as  jeepney drivers hold a transport strike in Quezon City on Thursday. Photo: AP

Tricycle drivers wait to receive a 5,000-peso government subsidy distributed at a public park in Quezon City on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

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Farmer Elmer Ullani spent seven hours transporting his produce to a trading post, but says he has nothing left after paying for fuel


Farmer Elmer Ullani spent seven hours transporting his produce to a trading post, but says he has nothing left after paying for fuel.


Filipino farmer pleads ‘Stop US-Iran War’ after soaring fuel prices wipe out earnings

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Farmer Elmer Ullani spent seven hours transporting his produce to a trading post, but says he has nothing left after paying for fuel

Farmer Elmer Ullani spent seven hours transporting his produce to a trading post, but says he has nothing left after paying for fuel