Sinag president Rosendo So has warned that retail prices of onions could reach P400 per kilo (€6.80) as he noted a shortage in the supply of the products. So said in an interview that last month Sinag already recommended to the Department of Agriculture (DA) to import at least 7,000 tons of white onions and 7,500 tons of red onions to address the tightness in the supply of onions.
"We prefer affordable onions in the market, there is really a shortage. We already warned the DA that there will be a spike in the prices of onions, that's why we recommended last month to import white onions in November and this December, there is a need to import white and red onions," he added.
So accused some DA officials of conniving with traders to manipulate the supply of the bulbs: "The people at the Bureau of Plant Industry have been there for a long time. Only the heads are replaced. They know the consumption and the volume of production of onions to be able to plan and if there is a need to import to prevent an increase in the prices of onions. It's the consumers who suffer. The farmers do not benefit. What I can see is connivance between officials of the DA and the traders.”
According to So, last year, at least 5,000 MT of onions were imported in October 2021, 16,700 MT in November 2021, and 24,600 MT in December 2021.
Source: https://manilatimes.net