Onion growers hail DA effort to curb smuggling

BONGABON, Nueva Ecija, Philippines —Onion farmers and stakeholders belonging to the Union of Growers and Traders of Onions of the Philippines (UGAT) hailed Agriculture Secretary Prospero Alcala for effectively curbing the smuggling of imported onions.

Magtanggol Alvarez, UGAT chairman, said it is only now that the plight of local onion growers has been given attention and proper direction through the government’s strict regulation on the entry of imported onions.

Onion farmers in Nueva Ecija, known as the “onion basket of the country,” and bulb farmers in the provinces of Pangasinan, Nueva Viscaya,  Mindoro and Ilocos supply 75 to 85 percent of the country’s onion needs.

In the past, UGAT and other onion farmers’ cooperatives had been very vocal against the entry of imported and smuggled onions.  It is during this time of the year when farmers are cleaning and drying their newly-harvested onions only to find out that Divisoria and other big markets all over the country are already flooded with onions from China and India.

“Gumanda at luminaw ang kinabukasan ng mga magsisibuyas sa naging suporta ng gobyerno lalo na ang mahigpit at puspusang kampanya ni Bureau of Customs Commissioner Angelito J. Alvarez laban sa illegal na importation ng sibuyas at iba pang produktong agrikultura na pumapatay sa kabuhayan ng magsasakang Pilipino.” Alvarez said.

The onion farmers also hailed Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) chief Marissa Galang for her vigilance in guarding the Port of Manila where billions worth of imported onions and other vegetables have illegally entered in the past years.

Luchie Cena, municipal agriculture officer of Bongabon, Nueva Ecija, said Mayor Amelia A. Gamilla also thanked the Department of Agriculture for giving P15 million worth of hybrid onion seeds to local farmers who were badly affected when Typhoon Ondoy wreak havoc to the country two years ago.

Alvarez said President Aquino and Alcala have given the local onion industry the proverbial “shot in the arm” because in the past administrations the local onion industry have been devastated by the influx and massive dumping of imported onions from China and India.