Drop in onion stocks no cause for alarm – DA

MANILA, Philippines — Will consumers be weeping again over the steep price of onions?

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has assured the public that the prices of red onion will not skyrocket like they did in previous years, citing the start of the local harvest that is expected to replenish dwindling stocks in cold storage facilities nationwide.

DA Assistant Secretary and spokesman Arnel de Mesa attributed the recent uptick in onion prices to the dwindling stocks in cold storage. However, he said these stocks are gradually being replaced by the ongoing new harvest.

“There is no cause for alarm because the harvest is there,” De Mesa said.

He emphasized that onions cannot be stored for too long as this leads to spoilage, forcing some traders to release their overstaying stocks immediately.

Industry players earlier noted that onions can typically be in cold storage for six months under ideal conditions.

Beyond this, the produce is at risk of spoilage or sprouting.

Red onions in cold storage nationwide, as of Jan. 17, were estimated at around 8,500 metric tons while yellow onion stocks stood at 1,628.4 MT, according to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).

Based on the country’s average daily consumption, the BPI estimated that the red onion stocks would last only until Feb. 1, while the yellow onion stocks would be depleted within the week.

Meanwhile, the newly harvested onions are expected to enter cold storage facilities this quarter.

About 40,334.41 MT of locally produced red onions will likely be stored until the end of March, ensuring a supply of red onions for at least 83 days, or until April 10, the agency added.

Meanwhile, around 19,450 MT of yellow onions are expected to be produced and stored this quarter, along with an estimated 2,514 MT of imported yellow onions expected to arrive as of Jan. 16.

The combined supply of yellow onions is projected to last for 161 days, or until June 27.

Last year, the red onion industry faced logistical challenges due to an abundant harvest that resulted in surplus stocks.

This, sources said, posed storage concerns for traders as some of the stocks exceeded the ideal storage duration.

Retail prices of red onions have started to climb at the start of this year with the DA’s latest price monitoring report showing that red onions are now ranging between P100 and P180 per kilo in Metro Manila markets.

Two years ago, red onion prices spiked beyond P500 per kilo due to a shortfall in domestic supply coupled by delayed government importation.

Pork max SRP mulled

Amid the spike in pork retail prices and flooding of imported frozen products, a maximum suggested retail price (SRP) is being considered by the DA.

The farmgate price of pork only ranged between P200 and P220 per kilo, but retail prices reached as high as P460 per kilo, De Mesa said yesterday.

“There was abuse in the prices of pork in the markets,” he noted.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. implemented on Jan. 20 a max SRP of P58 on imported rice after tariff cuts failed to lower rice prices.

Despite high pork retail prices, De Mesa said there is no supply shortage.

This was echoed by farmers’ group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag), which said local stocks totaled 800 million kilos.

Of the total stocks, 320 million kilos of pork are stored in licensed slaughterhouses of the National Meat Inspection Service, Sinag executive director Jayson Cainglet said yesterday.

Non-accredited slaughterhouses, he said, account for 400 to 500 million kilos of pork.

“Imported pork is flooding the local market because of Executive Order 62. Similar to rice, the retail price is going up,” Cainglet said, referring to reduced tariffs’ failure to lower prices.

Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority and Bureau of Animal Industry, Cainglet said pork consumption in 2024 totaled 1.55 million metric tons, of which 733,000 MT or 70 percent came from imported pork.

“Only pork importers and traders benefited from EO 62 and the high retail price of pork,” he told The STAR.

Food security emergency

Tiu Laurel is expected to declare a food security emergency in the first week of February, De Mesa said.

Despite delays in its implementation, declaring a food security emergency remains urgent, he maintained.

At yesterday’s House quinta committee hearing, De Mesa recalled trade officials saying that the National Price Coordinating Council (NPCC)’s resolution will be transmitted to the DA in two working days.

Tiu Laurel is awaiting the NPCC’s resolution before declaring a food security emergency.

Meanwhile, the DA wants Congress to pass a law returning the National Food Authority (NFA)’s function to intervene in the market even without declaring a food security emergency.

The NFA, he said, has prepared guidelines once it is allowed to release its rice buffer stocks to the market and replace them with locally produced palay.

Unloading 300,000 MT of rice from NFA warehouses would help reduce prices by augmenting supply, Tiu Laurel has said.