Philippines to import 16,000 MT yellow onions

MANILA, Philippines — At least 16,000 metric tons of fresh yellow onions will be imported by the Philippines to plug the shortfall in domestic supply and avert another runaway spike in retail prices, which happened in 2022.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Monday approved the importation of yellow onions to arrest price spikes in the market as supplies are running thin.

“With the upcoming holiday season and harvest season commencing in January 2025, it is expected that demand for fresh yellow onions will increase,” Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) director Gerald Glenn Panganiban said in his memorandum to Tiu Laurel.

“Given that supplies for this commodity are very limited, it can result in an increase of price in the market,” he noted.

Panganiban earlier proposed to Tiu Laurel the importation of fresh yellow onions to ensure supply and price stability until yearend.

“The BPI has already submitted its recommendation to the secretary to import yellow onions,” Agriculture Assistant Secretary and spokesman Arnel de Mesa yesterday told The STAR.

Based on BPI projections, supply of locally produced yellow onions was only sufficient until the end of the month.

The Philippines usually imports yellow onions to fill the gap in domestic stocks and prevent price spikes.

Tiu Laurel said yellow onion imports would start arriving by the end of this week or early next week.

“We will only import a limited quantity of yellow onions just to stabilize the prices,” Tiu Laurel told reporters yesterday.

Panganiban vowed that the BPI would ensure the last day of arrival of imported yellow onions would be on Dec. 31 to protect domestic producers once they start harvesting their crops, which is expected to begin in January 2025.

The stock of red onions is sufficient and expected to last until early 2025, agriculture officials said.

As of Aug. 9, red onion stocks stood at 99,519 MT while yellow onions were at 1,642 MT, BPI data showed.

The Department of Agriculture has been holding off plans to import red onions as the local industry saw a bumper harvest this year, resulting in sufficient stocks.

The retail price of red onions in Metro Manila markets has been stable, between P70 and P150 per kilo, while white onions retail at P80 to P150.

In 2022, the retail price of the bulbs reached as high as P720 per kilo amid the supply shortage and increase in demand during the holidays.

Farmers’ group Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. president Danilo Fausto supports the DA’s decision to import white onions. –  Bella Cariaso