DA: Imports not pulling down local red onion prices

MANILA, Philippines — Imported stocks are not enough to pull down the prices of domestic red onions, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said yesterday.

Onion farmers in Nueva Ecija had raised the alarm that red onion prices had plunged.

The DA said that the complaint, sent via Messenger on Friday, warned that “imported onions were piling up in cold storage facilities across Central Luzon and dragging down farm gate prices.”

Agriculture chief Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. directed the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) to verify the claim and determine what measures must be imposed “to ensure that farmers’ bottomline is not affected while consumers have available and affordable supply.”

“The numbers show that current stocks from imports are not overwhelming the market, but merely plugging a supply gap,” Tiu Laurel said. “That said, we are taking a closer look at why onion prices are falling at this time of the year, as claimed by farmers.”

Based on the reported figures on Friday, the agency said that about 82 percent of cold storage warehouses showed 4,454.09 metric tons of red onion stocks and 5,271.15 MT of yellow onions, “nearly all of the stocks imported.”

“At an average warehouse price of P30.36 per kilo for red onions, inventories are projected to last until February 19 for red onions and March 15 for yellow,” the agency said.

“At first glance, the figures suggest an oversupply. In context, however, they tell a different story – one that anticipates the seasonal uptick in local harvests expected to peak between March and April,” it added.

The National Plant Quarantine Services Division said that about 8,000 MT of red onions are “covered by sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances valid until Feb. 15 and must arrive before local harvest peaks.”

“Assumptions made by BPI show that even if all remaining shipments arrive within the month, imported red onion stocks would likely last only until March 6, just as harvest starts to peak. However, old stocks held by private cold storages must also be accounted for, if any,” the agency added.