The first shipment of imported onions has finally arrived in the country as part of the government’s “temporary, short-term” solution to bring down the spiraling prices of the agricultural commodity.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Rex Estoperez on Monday said that the 400 of yellow onions and 800 tons of red onions would need to be cleared first by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) before being released into the local market. He did not say which country these came from. The 1,200 tons of imported onions, however, comprise only 5.7 percent of the 21,060 tons allowed by the government to be sourced from other countries before the start of the local harvest season next month.
The batch also accounts for only about 24 percent of the import clearances issued by the Department of Agriculture (DA) covering 5,000 tons.
Source: newsinfo.inquirer.net