Onion producers from Tierras Altas gave the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) and the Institute of Agricultural Marketing three days, which come to an end today, to find a solution for the domestic onion production.
The onion producers have 20,000 quintals ready for release, but they don't have a buyer, said Antonio Acosta, vice president of the producers.
"We haven't even been able to sell 10 quintals this week," he said, because "the market is filled by foreign product."
The Panamanian Food Safety Authority (AUPSA) allowed the entry of 44,000 quintals of onions into the country at a time when producers were in the harvest season.
According to Acosta, the importing companies have 22,000 quintals of onions in their warehouses.
Additionally, according to AUPSA's website, more containers with onions will be arriving into the country in the coming days.
Lorenzo Jimenez, one of the producers affected, said he found it troubling that the foreign onion were brought with the slogan "You only pay what you sell."
In recent years, onion imports, especially from the Netherlands, have increased without the authorities doing something about it.
Source: laestrella.com.pa