Onion imports may not be necessary

In the Philippines, retail prices reached PHP 280 (USD 4.74) per kilo of red onions while the price of PHP 170 (USD 2.88) had been imposed as the suggested retail price.

 

To stem the price spike, onion imports seemed to be the solution. The Department of Agriculture requested an onion stock assessment before making the decision. According to projections by the BPI (Bureau of Plant Industry), the current supply reaches 10,000 tonnes of onions and can meet demand until the end of the year holidays.

 

Additionally, the Department of Agriculture expects an early onion harvest this month and a full harvest is expected in February.

 

The government has not issued any import permits for onions, underlined the Department of Agriculture which specified that the control in the ports will be reinforced to fight smuggling. Recently, a shipment of 100,000 kilos of white onions, declared as "breads/pastries", worth 30 million PHP (507,611 USD) was confiscated.