Import of onions suspended
THE importation of onion has been temporarily suspended to further prevent depressing onion prices due to oversupply.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. issued the suspension which will last until May and possibly extend it through July if the domestic harvest of the commodity remains sufficient to meet local demand.
Laurel announced the suspension during his meeting with the representatives of the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) wherein they discussed the surge in domestic supply of onion due to fresh harvest and arrival of additional supply imported in December.
Shipment delays resulted in the arrival of 99 tons of onion imported in December between January 1 and 15.
“In principle, I agree with no onion importation until July. But that is on condition that if there is a sudden supply shortfall, we will have to import earlier,” he said. “Hindi po natin alam ang mangyayari dahil may El Nino (We don’t know what would happen because of El Nino),” Laurel said.
Warmer temperatures and a prolonged dry spell caused by El Nino could spawn more pests that could undermine onion production. The full impact of El Nino is expected to be felt around March and April.
The increased supply has pushed down farm gate prices of onion between P50 and P70 a kilo and could fall further when more onions are harvested in February. In some areas in Nueva Ecija, which accounts for 97 percent of onion production in Luzon, prices have dropped to as low as P20 a kilo. Luzon produces 65 percent of the local onion supply.
In December 2022, prices of onion surged to a record high of P720 a kilo due to tight supply.
The PCAFI reported to Laurel that they expect a supply surplus since an additional 40 percent of the land area was planted for onions. It added that even with the reported infestation of armyworms in some areas in Tarlac and Nueva Ecija, a supply glut is imminent as the pest is only expected to damage around 5 percent of standing crops.
Laurel and the PCAFI agreed to meet every 45 days to review the supply situation and recalibrate the import schedule and volume. The next meeting will be held in early March.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) reported that only 366 hectares out of 10,217 hectares of farmland planted to onion have been infested by armyworms—the caterpillar-like larvae stage of what would eventually become moths. Out of the infested areas, only crops on 6.9 hectares were damaged while 359.1 hectares have sustained partial damage, the BPI report said.
