DA hems and haws on onion imports

By Rose de la Cruz

After the Bureau of Plant Industry recommended to its mother agency, the Department of Agriculture, that there are ample stocks of red and yellow onions enough to last even after March,, DA Secretary Francisco Tiiu Laurel announced he would allow 3,000 of red onions and 1,000 tons of yellow onions.

In an article headlined, “Dwindling supplies prompt Manila to import red onions” the story quoted Laurel that the imports carry a caveat that these would only plug the projected shortfall in domestic supply for February. However, the original story of BPI was that supplies are ample enough to last even until April.

“Maybe 3,000 MT of red onions and 1,000 MT of white onions,” Laurel told the BusinessMirror on Monday.

BPI data showed that as of January 24 stocks of red onions were at 7,281 MT and white/yellow  at 800 MT. White or yellow onions are used mostly by restaurants and those in food business and vegetarians.

The BPI estimated that red onion stocks would only last until this week while yellow onion supplies had been depleted since January 29, based on the country’s daily consumption.

However, the agency noted that onion harvests would replenish inventories by end-February.

The BPI said the expected volume of red onions that will be harvested until February 28 would reach 17,200 MT, minus the supplies already in cold storage facilities. These additional stocks are expected to last for 41 days or until March 7.

For yellow onions, the Philippines is expected to produce 7,765 MT by the end of February.

The Philippines imported 1,830 MT of yellow onions. The agency estimated that the country’s additional yellow onion supplies would last for 71 days or until April 5.

Despite this, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the depleted supply would be augmented since some planters have started to harvest onions in early January.

“Some farmers have already started to harvest this January. The peak harvest season for onions is January to March,” De Mesa told reporters in a previous interview.

“It was announced since last year that red onion stocks in cold storage would last until February…the timing for dwindling stocks would coincide with the harvest season,” he added.

Retail prices of red onions ranged from P110 to P200 per kilo, higher than P100 to P170 per kilo recorded on January 2, based on the government’s latest price monitoring report.

Local white onions ranged from P80 to P140 per kilo while imported white onions stood at P80 to P160 per kilo.

Prematurely, I lauded BPI’s recommendation not to import onions as this highly perishable commodity planted mostly by rice farmers as an in-between crop after harvesting palay, has been traditionally a good source of income to them, but with such importations their chances of even recovering their capital or investments have been rendered futile.

The BPI earlier said it would not allow any importation of red onion as stocks are expected to last until harvest, which would begin soon, to lift nationwide supplies to over the first quarter.

Red onions stored in cold storages nationwide as of Jan. 17 were estimated at around 8,500 metric tons while yellow onion stocks stood at 1,628.4 MT, the BPI said the newly-harvested onions will be stored this current quarter with red onion volumes of 40,3334 MT until end of March. The projected additional stocks would ensure that the country would have red onions for at least 63 days or until April 10, PhilStar reported.

For yellow onions, around 19,450 MT are expected to be produced and stored in cold storage within the quarter. The BPI projects that about 2,514 MT of imported yellow onions arrived as of Jan. 16. Total yellow onion stocks would last for 161 days or until June 27.

The drop in red onion stocks was attributed to some traders unloading more supplies last month for fear of spoiling or sprouting of new bulbs stored beyond six months, said industry sources.

The red onion industry faced an unfamiliar logistical concern in 2024 when the country had a glut for the first time in recent history due to bumper harvest.

This, they said, posed storage concerns for traders as some of the stocks could be staying in cold storages longer than ideal duration.

This was evident in the initial supply and demand projections made by the BPI earlier last year that red onion stocks of the country would even last until the middle of March this year.

Last year, the DA did not also permit any red onion importation because of ample stocks that kept retail prices of the commodity relatively stable throughout the year at prices ranging P70 to P150/kg.

In recent weeks though prices for red onions started to increase to P140 and P200 per kg. in Metro Manila markets.