More than 70 per cent of Tawi Tawi's economy is dependent on its trade with Sabah. (Photo: Aya Lowe)
MANILA: In a busy market in Tawi Tawi in the Philippines, Nuria Malagday patrols the shops selling rice. The purse she clutches tightly in her hand contains a day’s earnings from her eldest son who works as a tricycle driver. But even after working a full day, she knows that what she has will not be enough to feed herself and her 10 children.
Her daily budget of 350 pesos (US$7) was already very tight, but with prices of basic commodities now rising by 150 per cent or more, she finds it impossible to make ends meet. She used to be able to buy rice for the equivalent of around US$12 for a sack. In recent months, this has shot up to nearly US$24.
“When my husband died, my children were still young. We survived because one of my children is a tricycle driver," she explained. "If he earns (enough) money in a day, we can buy at least 3kg of rice. We make porridge out of it. If he earns less, they (my children) just drink water and then sleep."
The spike in prices came after the Malaysian government introduced a trade ban between Sabah and the Philippines in March. It was implemented following a series of kidnappings of Malaysian sailors - allegedly carried out by the extremist group Abu Sayyaf - in the waters between Sabah in Malaysia and Tawi Tawi in the Philippines.
A series of kidnappings were allegedly carried out by the Abu Sayyaf between Sabah and Tawi Tawi in March. (Photo: Aya Lowe)
Traders in southern Mindanao, the region in which Tawi Tawi is located, have imported goods from Sabah for centuries. More than 70 per cent of Tawi Tawi's economy is dependent on its trade with Sabah.
The proximity of towns like Bongao in Tawi Tawi to Sabah in Malaysia makes it easier for them to trade with the neighbouring country rather than with the rest of the Philippines.
“This kind of practice has been going on for a long time, from generations before us. We usually do this without thinking that Malaysia is different from the Philippines,” said Kadz Sahali, a municipal administrator from Panglima Sugala, Tawi Tawi.
Shops selling Malaysian goods such as palm sugar, noodles and rice have flourished in the port towns of Tawi Tawi over the centuries as a result of this barter trade. However with the recent blockade, many of these shops are going through tough times.
Honoria Malagday has been selling rice for nearly 30 years. This is the most expensive she has ever seen it.
“We were really affected because we couldn't go there anymore and our stocks ran out. Prices of rice, sugar and other goods from Malaysia were really expensive,” she said.
She now has to get her rice either from Zamboanga in the Philippines or Labuan in Malaysia, which takes three nights instead of the usual 10 hours. The longer distance and taxes increase the price.
“There are a lot of poor people here in Tawi Tawi. Those who bought one sack of rice before can now only afford to buy half a sack of rice,” she said.
BARTER TRADE A 'TRADITION'
At fisherman Aidrus Unnoch’s warehouse, ice boxes filled with barracudas, groupers, clams and squid fill the area. He used to earn an average of US$1,000 a week when he sold his fish to the Malaysians for a premium price. But following the trade embargo, his income has been reduced to about US$300 as he is forced to sell to the local market.
“The Malaysians will buy these fish at a high price. Before, we could enter there carrying anything, but now it's hard," he said. "That's why no one tries to go there. No one. Now I have to sell to the local market for a fraction of the cost. It also takes longer to ship it to the other Philippine islands, so I lose freshness, I lose value."
The local municipality is trying to appeal to both the Philippine and Malaysian governments to lift the trade embargo. Nazrullah Masahuo, the provincial director of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), lamented the rising costs while showing Channel NewsAsia a letter of appeal she had just finished typing up.
“Barter trade was something that was a tradition here. We are not terrorists but we’re the ones suffering,” she said.
But there are no signs of the embargo being lifted. And as long as extremist groups like the Abu Sayyaf keep operating in the waters surrounding Tawi Tawi, it is the residents who suffer.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/prices-of-goods-soar-in-southern-philippines-after-sabah-trade/3312140.html
“When my husband died, my children were still young. We survived because one of my children is a tricycle driver," she explained. "If he earns (enough) money in a day, we can buy at least 3kg of rice. We make porridge out of it. If he earns less, they (my children) just drink water and then sleep."
The spike in prices came after the Malaysian government introduced a trade ban between Sabah and the Philippines in March. It was implemented following a series of kidnappings of Malaysian sailors - allegedly carried out by the extremist group Abu Sayyaf - in the waters between Sabah in Malaysia and Tawi Tawi in the Philippines.
A series of kidnappings were allegedly carried out by the Abu Sayyaf between Sabah and Tawi Tawi in March. (Photo: Aya Lowe)
Traders in southern Mindanao, the region in which Tawi Tawi is located, have imported goods from Sabah for centuries. More than 70 per cent of Tawi Tawi's economy is dependent on its trade with Sabah.
The proximity of towns like Bongao in Tawi Tawi to Sabah in Malaysia makes it easier for them to trade with the neighbouring country rather than with the rest of the Philippines.
“This kind of practice has been going on for a long time, from generations before us. We usually do this without thinking that Malaysia is different from the Philippines,” said Kadz Sahali, a municipal administrator from Panglima Sugala, Tawi Tawi.
Shops selling Malaysian goods such as palm sugar, noodles and rice have flourished in the port towns of Tawi Tawi over the centuries as a result of this barter trade. However with the recent blockade, many of these shops are going through tough times.
Honoria Malagday has been selling rice for nearly 30 years. This is the most expensive she has ever seen it.
“We were really affected because we couldn't go there anymore and our stocks ran out. Prices of rice, sugar and other goods from Malaysia were really expensive,” she said.
She now has to get her rice either from Zamboanga in the Philippines or Labuan in Malaysia, which takes three nights instead of the usual 10 hours. The longer distance and taxes increase the price.
“There are a lot of poor people here in Tawi Tawi. Those who bought one sack of rice before can now only afford to buy half a sack of rice,” she said.
BARTER TRADE A 'TRADITION'
At fisherman Aidrus Unnoch’s warehouse, ice boxes filled with barracudas, groupers, clams and squid fill the area. He used to earn an average of US$1,000 a week when he sold his fish to the Malaysians for a premium price. But following the trade embargo, his income has been reduced to about US$300 as he is forced to sell to the local market.
“The Malaysians will buy these fish at a high price. Before, we could enter there carrying anything, but now it's hard," he said. "That's why no one tries to go there. No one. Now I have to sell to the local market for a fraction of the cost. It also takes longer to ship it to the other Philippine islands, so I lose freshness, I lose value."
The local municipality is trying to appeal to both the Philippine and Malaysian governments to lift the trade embargo. Nazrullah Masahuo, the provincial director of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), lamented the rising costs while showing Channel NewsAsia a letter of appeal she had just finished typing up.
“Barter trade was something that was a tradition here. We are not terrorists but we’re the ones suffering,” she said.
But there are no signs of the embargo being lifted. And as long as extremist groups like the Abu Sayyaf keep operating in the waters surrounding Tawi Tawi, it is the residents who suffer.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/prices-of-goods-soar-in-southern-philippines-after-sabah-trade/3312140.html
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