The Marcos administration shall carry out a calibrated importation of onions to protect farmers and consumers, according to an official of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
In a press briefing on Saturday, DA Assistant Secretary Kristine Evangelista said the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) has taken into consideration the harvest of farmers when mentioned importation and that their unit is in charge of that certain commodity.
“Pagdating naman po doon sa mini-mention ninyo tungkol sa importation, iyong harvest po na ini-expect natin sa ating magsasaka, iyan po ay taken into consideration by both the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) on the high-value crop… it’s a bureau, and our unit [is] in charge of that certain commodity,” Evangelista said.
She added that a calibrated importation is something they are considering and that for now, they are waiting for updates on when to implement it. She also mentioned that unlike before, a cutoff is now applied on importation and that the farmgate price of onions is reduced to ₱250 per kilo
Last December, prices of onions increased ranging from ₱450 to ₱460.
Yet, Evangelista said that this is something that must be confirmed and that based on the reports she is receiving from the farmers and institutional buyers there is a decline in farmgate price.
Meanwhile, retail prices of onions in Metro Manila are at ₱400 to ₱550 based on the DA’s daily monitoring.
