The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Sunday reiterated the likelihood for the onion import ban to last beyond May or even June as part of measures helping shield onion growers from unreasonable farm gate prices and the destruction of their crops.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has ordered a temporary stop to onion imports until May to help stabilize prices and avert a supply glut. It has also began providing assistance to onion farmers in several towns in Nueva Ecija and Tarlac beset by an army worm infestation.
Laurel said the onion import ban may be extended through July should the domestic harvest prove inadequate to meet local demand. Onion prices took a dive in recent weeks as farmers harvested the crop just as onions imported in December unloaded at the ports.
Some 99 tons of the crop imported in December arrived between January 1 and 15 this year due to shipping delays.
As a result, onion farm gate prices were at P50 to P70 per kilo and could fall further as more are harvested in February.
In some areas in Nueva Ecija that accounts for 97 percent of onion production in Luzon, prices have dropped to as low as P20 per kilo.
In December 2022, the price of onion stood at a record high of P720 per kilo.
“In principle, I agree with no onion imports until July but that is on condition there is a sudden supply shortfall. We will have to import earlier. We don’t know what would happen because of El Niño,” Laurel said.
Stakeholders have agreed to meet with Laurel every 45 days to review the supply situation and recalibrate the import schedule and volume if needed.
Laurel said warmer temperatures and a prolonged dry spell caused by El Niño could result in more pests that could ruin onion production.
Laurel said local stakeholders project an oversupply of onion since an additional 40 percent of farm land were planted to the crop and that even with an army worm infestation in some areas in Tarlac and Nueva Ecija, a supply glut is imminent as the pest is only expected to damage 5 percent of standing crops.
The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPi) has estimated that 366 hectares of the 10,217 hectares of farms planted to onion have been infested by army worms. Of the infested areas, only 6.9 hectares of the crop were totally damaged and 359.1 hectares more sustained partial damage.
The affected areas include the towns of Bongabon and Talevera and Palayan City in Nueva Ecija and the towns of Anao and San Manuel in Tarlac.
