The Department of Agriculture (DA) gave public assurances Tuesday that there will be a steady supply of yellow onions as the holiday season approaches.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel confirmed that shipments of yellow onion are arriving steadily and will continue for the rest of the year.
“We’ve issued the permits for yellow onion importation. As of today, I believe there are already 2,000 metric tons that arrived,” he said.
Total importation volume for yellow onions will be capped at 16,000 metric tons, with arrivals spread out over the last four months of the year.
Tiu Laurel emphasized that the additional supply of yellow onions is expected to reach the country before the end of the year.
The timing is crucial to prevent the importation from negatively impacting the output of local onion farmers early next year, he added.
The need for importation stems from the limited local production of white and yellow onions, unlike red onions, which are produced in abundance domestically.
In fact, the current supply of red onions is sufficient to last until March of next year, according to the DA.
Jollibee Group Foundation’s Gisela Tiongson acknowledged the cyclical decline in onion production that occurs every two years due to typhoons.
“But we’re thankful that farmers’ harvest last year was very good. And they keep on expanding their yield,” she said.
