P120/kilo onion SRP starts today

MANILA, Philippines — To curb soaring prices during the Christmas season, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will implement a maximum suggested retail price (SRP) of P120 per kilo for both red and white onions starting today.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. also emphasized that the rice-import moratorium imposed in September remains in effect until Dec. 31.

The maximum SRP on onions follows market monitoring reports showing retail prices climbing as high as P300 per kilo, with some reaching nearly P400.

Tiu Laurel acknowledged that delayed onion imports have tightened supply but this does not justify the “runaway prices” that verge on profiteering.

Imported onions currently cost around P60 per kilo, which, according to him, allows room for reasonable margins along the supply chain under the P120 ceiling.

On the other hand, while the two-month rice import moratorium helped boost farmgate palay prices in key provinces, as the harvest season progressed and prices have begun to soften, the DA has decided to extend it through the end of the year.

This follows President Marcos’ directive to stabilize palay prices and protect local farmers from financial strain.

DA also issued a warning against fraudulent schemes involving rice import allocations, cautioning importers not to fall victim to offers promising early import privileges.

Tiu Laurel said reports indicate that unscrupulous individuals have distributed solicitation forms to rice millers, importers and traders in Cebu to grant importers the ability to bring in rice as early as December.

One such sample form, using official-sounding language, requests Tiu Laurel’s acknowledgment of “participating miller-importers” and their past import volumes, suggesting inclusion in a “food security program in 2026.”

“This is fake news, this is a scam,” Tiu Laurel said, adding that authorities are tracking those behind the scheme.

The DA urged industry stakeholders to remain vigilant and to immediately report any similar offers to authorities.