Farmers’ group counters DA claim on red onion SRP

MANILA, Philippines — Farmers’ group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) countered the claim of a ranking official of the Department of Agriculture that the implementation of the P150 suggested retail price (SRP) for red onions and P140 for white onions was supposed to be an internal agreement, after a senior DA official did not sign the draft memorandum order.

In an interview yesterday with The STAR, SINAG executive director Jayson Cainglet said only the cartel and traders benefit from the delay in the implementation of the SRP.

“First of all, it was a stakeholders meeting, it was not internal, it is for public (consumption). Even during the hearings of Congress, the results of the DA meetings were being submitted,” he said.

Cainglet was reacting to the statement of Agriculture Assistant Secretary and deputy spokesman Rex Estoperez after he defended the decision of the agency to postpone the implementation of the P150 SRP.

Estoperez maintained that the announcement on the SRP for onions was premature pending the official issuance of a memorandum order of Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban.
“Congress gets documents from the DA since these are public, not internal. Only the cartel and mafia conduct internal meetings,” Cainglet pointed out.

The SRP for onions was supposed to take effect on May 22 as agreed during the stakeholders’ meeting on May 19.

“It cannot be an internal (agreement) as the consensus was the SRP will be posted at the markets and cold storage facilities and that everybody did it. At the markets, the P150 SRP for red onions and P140 for white onions were posted at the entrance and for cold storage, P100 (per kilo) for white and P110 (per kilo) for red were also displayed,” Cainglet noted.

According to Cainglet, even the local government units (LGUs) are waiting for the issuance of SRP to help in the implementation.

“There is no leak, it is a public event even Congress is waiting how much is the SRP.  During the hearing, the DA even said ‘we are preparing to import, we are preparing the SRP’ and in fact, LGUs said that before they can move, they need the SRP. So, we are as confused as before,” he added.

Cainglet said that if the DA does not implement the SRP, it should at least offer another scheme to bring down the retail price of onions.

“In the meantime that they have no other alternative, the SRP should be implemented. As early as two weeks ago, the SRP was agreed and yet there is still no SRP. Because of the dilly-dallying of the DA, it is not the producers or consumers who benefit, it is the traders and importers,” he said.

As of press time Monday, the DA did not issue its latest monitoring on the retail prices of the bulbs.

Based on monitoring of the DA in Metro Manila markets on Friday, the highest cost of the bulbs is now P190 per kilo compared to P200 per kilo in previous days.
The downward trend on the retail price of the bulbs came days after the decision of the DA to postpone the implementation of the SRP.

The retail price of P190 per kilo was recorded at Marikina Public Market.

The retail price of onions at Malabon Central Market ranged between P140 and P160 per kilo; at New Las Piñas Public Market at P150 per kilo; at Guadalupe Public Market in Makati City, between P150 and P160 per kilo; between P170 and P180 per kilo at San Andres Market, P180 per kilo at Quinta Market, and between P160 and P165 per kilo at Pritil Market all in Manila; Pamilihang Lungsod ng Muntinlupa, P160 per kilo; Pasay City Market, between P150 and P170 per kilo; Pasig City Mega Market, between P160 and P180 per kilo.

At Commonwealth Market, the retail price of the bulbs ranged between P160 and P180 per kilo; Muñoz Market, between P160 and P180 per kilo; Mega Q-mart, between 150 and P160 per kilo, all in Quezon City. – Catherine Talavera