Imported onions are now being sold in Metro Manila markets for P180 to P210 per kilo, lower than the P240 charged for local onions, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Thursday.
This comes as a relief to consumers, who have seen prices for onions shoot up to more than P700 per kilo in recent weeks owing to a supply shortage.
But President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. still ordered a meeting of onion industry stakeholders after the DA, which he also heads, noticed that imported onions were still being sold at higher prices.
“The President has ordered a stakeholders’ meeting on Monday (January 30) with importers, traders, retailers, and farmers to discuss the price since the DA price monitoring team saw imported onions being sold at P180 to P200 per kilogram,” Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement.
With Mr. Marcos as concurrent Agriculture Secretary, the DA is looking to achieve a price of P170 for a kilo of onions in 2023, even in certain months when they will be sold for P80 a kilo.
In an interview with ABS-CBN, Assistant Secretary for Consumer Affairs Kristine Evangelista acknowledged that “too many layers of traders” had pushed up the prices of local onions.
“Locally, we have seen that there are players and many layers of traders, and that definitely affects the price in the retail market,” she told ABS-CBN.
She said the department would work on enabling farmers to sell their produce directly to the market, eliminating the “unnecessary layers” of traders.
Evangelista said the DA wants to prevent the prices of onions from fluctuating daily.
But senators investigating the surge in onion prices have blamed the abnormal situation on a cartel that controls supply.
Earlier this month, the department gave the green light for the importation of 21,060 metric tons of onions to fill a supply gap and arrest the continuous spike in the price of the commodity in the market.
Licensed importers were given until today, January 27, for their shipments to arrive in the country.
Also on Thursday, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said it has intercepted P9.49 million worth of imported fresh red onions in two separate operations in Zamboanga City.
Customs Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz said the first operation was conducted in Barangay Labuan’s coastal area, where a motorized wooden sea vessel was intercepted with 1,624 bags of imported fresh onions, worth P2,598,400. Vince Lopez, Vito Barcelo and Joel E. Zurbano (See full story online at manilastandard.net)
The second operation involved 4,308 mesh bags of imported fresh red onions worth P6,892,800 in a sea vessel at Varadero de Cawit in Barangay Cawit, Zamboanga City.
The BoC said the seized onions did not have clearance from the Bureau of Plant Industry.
The onions were turned over to the DA and transported to its Research Center in Barangay Talisayan, Zamboanga City for safekeeping.
The BOC-Ninoy Aquino International Airport has also strengthened its campaign against smuggling in partnership with law enforcement agencies in the country and the United States.
NAIA Customs district collector Carmelita Talusan assured that the bureau under the leadership of Ruiz remains committed to uphold its mandate in strengthening border control and curbing the importation of illegal drugs and other items into in the country as directed by President Marcos Jr.
Talusan headed a meeting on aviation security and safety with officials of the Philippine National Police – Aviation Security Group (Avsegroup). They also discussed the process, and concerns on operations and procedures of the two agencies.