Cheap, imported onions flood Kidapawan

LOCAL SPICE Native red onions harvested in provinces in the Ilocos region, like Pangasinan, are in short supply in markets in the Visayas and Mindanao. —WILLIE LOMIBAO

KIDAPAWAN CITY—Red onions from The Netherlands and China are flooding markets in this city in Cotabato province amid the scarcity of local varieties, which are supplied by traders from the Ilocos region in Luzon.

Marisa Aton, city agriculturist, said the supply shortage started to be felt here in October last year, resulting in the increase in prices of native onions. Native red onions are sold in the city’s public market at P280 a kilogram. These were sold for only P80 a kilo when there was enough supply during the second quarter of last year.

Limited

This situation provided a window for imported onions to enter the local market as traders tried looking for supply to fill the demand from households, restaurants and fast-food outlets here “The supply [of native onion] is very limited. And some vendors patronized the imported [onions] because it is cheaper compared to locally grown ones,” Aton said.

Imported onions are sold at P140 a kilo, half the price of varieties from the Ilocos.

A market survey conducted by the City Agriculture Office last week showed that an average of 21,000 kilos of imported onions were being sold here every month.

Aton said imported onions flooded the market after the Department of Agriculture (DA) resorted to importation when onion plantations in Luzon were damaged by typhoons. The delayed planting of local onion varieties also contributed to the limited supply.

“Actually, it is not only Kidapawan experiencing the scarcity of supply; even markets in Luzon and the Visayas share the same predicament,” Aton said.

She said the DA was expecting that the supply of native red onions would stabilize as farmers in the Ilocos are now halfway in propagating the spice, Aton said. —WILLIAMOR MAGBANUA