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Thursday, June 30, 2005
Lending firms also hit by veggie importation
By Jane Cadalig
EVEN local financial lending institutions are not spared from the damage brought about by the entry of foreign agricultural products into the country.
This was disclosed by Quedancor, a government-owned and controlled company primarily engaged in extending loans to local farmers and fisherfolk, whose officials claimed Tuesday that it is also burdened by the unabated importation of agricultural produce, particularly vegetables.
Rainier Repollo, operations officer of Quedancor's Loans Management Group for Benguet, said the company is now faced with problematic accounts because of the inability of farmers to pay their obligations to them.
"Importation has affected our operations, in fact it is one of the causes of our problematic accounts," he told reporters in yesterday's Kapihan sa Benguet media forum.
He disclosed that from the P25.7 million that the financial institution released to about 800 farmer beneficiaries of Benguet and Mountain Province in the past three years, around P12 million, exclusive of interests and surcharges, remains uncollected because of the losses incurred by vegetable growers due to importation.
However, he emphasized that Quedancor can still manage to continue its operations despite the problem.
"The problem is manageable. Kahit di mabayaran yung amount on time (Even if the amount is not paid on time), there are other sources where we could get funds to be extended to those who are availing of loans," Repollo said.
The agency has also asked local officials to extend support to farmers in areas where most of the delinquent accounts exist, so they could settle their accounts, to enable the agency to extend more financial loans to other waiting clients.
He also said the company, through the Department of Agriculture (DA), is bent on tapping possible markets where the farmers, who availed of their lending services, could directly market their products.
"We are continuously conducting studies on how we could directly vend their produce. The absence of a direct market is one of their main problems. Even if they survive natural calamities, if they could not market their harvests, they would not be able to pay their financial obligations," he said.
(June 29, 2005 issue)
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