Manila, Sept. 4 -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday said it is closely monitoring retail movements in the prices of vegetables and fish following recent weather disturbances.

In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said continuous rains and flooding caused by the southwest monsoon or "habagat" and recent typhoons could bring temporary upward adjustments to some commodity prices.

"The bigger near-term concern is food inflation in high-value crops and fishery products, as flooding has damaged farms and fish ponds and disrupted the flow of goods to markets," he said.

As of Thursday, losses in high-value crops hit 4,869 hectares of farm lands across eight regions, resulting in 22,415 metric tons (MT) of volum...