Onion importation set to avoid shortage

Unable to meet current local requirements for onions, the Department of Agriculture is allowing the importation of red and yellow onions to meet such demand amid soaring domestic prices.

DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said he had approved onion imports as allium inventories were expected to thin out in the latter part of the year, based on the latest government data.

Hesaid  that the importation will come in by August for white (those used by restaurants, hotels and other industrial users) and by October for red (used mostly by households and carinderia).

He did not yet disclose the volume to be imported as the agency is still getting the final figures of inventory as against historical consumption from the Bureau of Plant Industry and industrial users.

BPI data showed that the country’s red onion inventory as of June 6 stood at 90,684 MT, while yellow onion stocks were estimated at 12,834 MT.

The BPI estimated that red onion stocks would only last until November 8, while yellow onion supplies would be depleted by September 2, based on the country’s daily consumption.

The bureau said the expected volume of red onions to be harvested until June 30 would only  reach 5,000 MT. These additional stocks are expected to last for 163 days or until November 16.

For yellow onions, the Philippines is expected to produce 193 MT by the end of June, enough to last 89 days or until September 3.

The DA recently said it would launch an investigation into the purported sale of imported onions in Metro Manila wet markets. “We have not issued any import permits since early this year, which means all imported onions currently in public markets are considered smuggled,” Laurel said in a previous interview.

Government price monitoring data shows that the retail price of local red onions ranges from P100 per kilo to P170 per kilo, while local white onions are sold in Metro Manila markets between P70 per kilo and P150 per kilo.