The first batch of imported onions weighing 1,200 metric tons (MT) has arrived in the Philippines as a temporary solution of the national government to the rising prices of agricultural products.

About 400 MT of yellow onions and 800 MT of red onions were imported and will be under clearance by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) before being released to the market, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Rex Estoperez said on Monday.

This was only 5.7 percent of the expected 21.060 MT to arrive in the country before the local harvest in February.

Red onions will be distributed in markets nationwide while yellow onions will only be in Luzon.

For pricing, the Department of Agriculture (DA) will visit onion-growing areas to determine production costs from local farmers.

“For the imported ones, their price should not go below the [local] cost of production or else, [our] farmers will end up losing money,” Esoperez said.

“That’s why we have to have a final figure then we go out to the market. We should have the final cost of production, then we can recommend the appropriate price cap at the retail level,” he added.

Meanwhile, the assistant secretary assured that the importation will not affect farmers and will only help decrease onion prices in the country.

“It will not hurt the farmers because before we decided to import, we considered the volume and the timing of the arrival," he explained.