The Department of Agriculture (DA) will allow the importation of as much as 20,000 metric tons (MT) of onions until year-end to beef up supply. A bountiful harvest of the commodity is not expected before the onset of the hot months next year.
The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), an adjunct of the DA, said it will be issuing sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPSIC) for onions to guarantee ample supply with the onset of Christmas-related activities during the holiday season and to ensure that last year’s ruckus over the commodity is not repeated.
The agency said 17,000 MT or red onion and another 4,000 MT of yellow onion will be sourced from China, India and the Netherlands.
The DA unit said the import volume is based on per capita consumption and will serve as buffer to stabilize prices prior to peak the anticipated harvest in March and April next year.
The imported onions have to be in on or before 31 December this year to guarantee against insufficient local supply prior to the harvest later in the year.
In the National Capital Region, the prevailing retail price of onions range from P130 to P220 per kilogram for local red variety, P100 to P160 per kilogranm for local white onion and only P80 to P160 per kilo for medium imported white onion.
The price range of medium sized imported red onion is not available but based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, onion production total of 482,066.12 metric tons (MT) of the mature bulbs last year.
Of this volume, the regions of Ilocos, Central Luzon and Mimaropa, jointly produced 462,848.62 MT equivalent to 96 percent of the country’s total onion production.
