DA Sec. Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. —Niño Jesus Orbeta/Inquirer file photo
MANILA, Philippines — Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Wednesday said he approved the importation of 16,000 metric tons (MT) of yellow onions until the end of December as the country is running out of stocks in time for the holidays.
Tiu Laurel said he gave the go-signal on Monday to bring in imported yellow onions ahead of next year’s harvest season as local stocks were already “depleted.”
“We will import a limited quantity of white onions to stabilize prices of white onions,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an industry event held in Pasay City.
But he said all imported fresh yellow onions should arrive in the country by the end of December, ahead of the start of the local harvest in January next year.
“We still have ample stocks of red onion … good until March next year,” Tiu Laurel added.
Two-week interval
According to him, the Department of Agriculture will issue sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances every two weeks to prevent a glut in the local market and avoid affecting existing stocks of red onions.
Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) director Gerald Glenn Panganiban earlier recommended the importation of fresh yellow onion to ensure a sufficient supply for the remainder of this year.
Import volume basis
The BPI placed the volume at 16,000 MT based on the country’s monthly per capita consumption.
Based on its monitoring of different cold storage warehouses in various regions, the available stock for fresh red onion is at 135,551.40 MT, which is expected to last until March next year.
As for fresh yellow onion, the available stock is at 3,296.50 MT, good only until Aug. 25.
Local red onion retailed from P70 to P150 per kilogram as of Tuesday, lower than P120 to P190 per kg in the same period a year ago, based on the DA’s price monitoring.
Local white onion was selling from P80 to P150 per kg, as opposed to last year’s P110 to P170 per kg.
Both imported red and white onions are not available in public markets as of this writing.