Customs seizes P10-M smuggled onions from China

Customs authorities confiscated yesterday an illegal shipment of 40 container vans of onions from China which arrived the other day at the Port of Manila.

The seized shipment, with an estimated value of some P10 million, was not covered by an import permit from the Department of Agriculture (DA) thus considered smuggled, according to Customs deputy commissioner Ray Allas, chief of the Customs Intelligence and Enforcement Group (CIEG).

Allas also disclosed that another large shipment of similar cargo from the same country of origin is on its way to Manila based on information relayed to his office. He said he has already issued an alert order on the arriving shipment.

The confiscated shipment of onions was declared as general merchandise by its still unidentfied importer to avoid the requirement of a prior clearance from the DA to import government regulated agricultural products aimed at protecting the local vegetable growers.

Allas also said that the seizure of the illegal shipment would be a big loss to the importer as the cargo would be allowed to rot and dump in line with the government policy to regulate the importation of agricultural products.

In a related development, Customs Commissioner Antonio Bernardo made an on-the-spot inspection of abandoned cargoes at the Manila International Container Port to determine their contents for purposes of putting them at the auction block to generate more revenues to help ease the government budget deficit.

There are hundreds of abandoned cargoes at the MICP which remained unclaimed for years either because the importers could not pay the taxes and duties or that there are no import documents to support the importations.

In a related development, local onion producers have expressed concern that some 50,000 kilos of yellow onions smuggled from China two weeks ago but were seized by the government, may yet wind up in the market and depress prices of domestically-produced onions.

Vegetable anti-smuggling task force member and Benguet provincial board member John Kim said he has issued a strong request for the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to incinerate the smuggled onions contained in 118 40-footer freezer vans to ensure that these are dumped into the local market.

Earlier, Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) director Hernani G. Golez said he asked the BOC to hold the shipment. – With Rocel Felix