Luzon onion farmers demand stop to importation

Onion producers from Pangasinan, Tarlac and adjoining provinces join their Nueva Ecija counterparts on Nov. 11 in a protest march against the importation of onions which forced a price reduction in the local markets. —ARMAND GALANG

CABANATUAN CITY—Farmers from three onion-producing provinces marched here on Friday to draw attention to what they called premature importation of onions that led to a glut in the market.

Onion growers from Pangasinan, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija said the glut has caused prices to drop sharply.

Alejandro Abesamis, Nueva Ecija provincial administrator, said importation was resorted to when the supply of onions fell in September. He said farmers were told to sell their stocks after prices went up that month to about P90 a kilogram.

But Israel Reguyal, president of the Local Onion Growers for Economic and Trade Cooperative (Lognet), said 100,000 bags of onions are stored in Nueva Ecija alone and 400,000 bags more are in cold storage facilities in other Luzon provinces, including Metro Manila.

The current stocks, Reguyal said, could last until December.

Imported onions are sold at P27 to P32 a kilogram, far lower than the P39 to P40 a kilogram set for locally-produced onions.

“We onion growers in Central Luzon appeal to President Duterte to look into this problem because onions are our only source of livelihood here,” Reguyal said.

“Next time this happens, our industry may die and we do not know where else we could earn to feed our families,” he added.

Rodrigo Odon, a farmer from Bayambang town in Pangasinan, said farmers spend an average of P170,000 a hectare to grow onions, hoping to sell a kg of onions for P45 to get minimal profit.

Agricultural production in the country suffered a setback as a result of the flood of imported produce that included rice and pork.

Farmers’ groups had been complaining of losses as a result of importation.

Militants had blamed trade liberalization for farmers’ plight, accusing First World countries of manipulating international trade pacts to protect their own agricultural industries.

The absence of subsidies, which the Philippine government stopped in keeping with its international trade commitments, has exposed small farmers to the perils of globalization. —ARMAND GALANG