Farmers are disappointed by the news of onion imports coinciding with the harvest season.

In Nueva Ecija and neighboring provinces such as Nueva Vizcaya, Tarlac, Pangasinan, all the way to Ilocos, onion farmers are worried about the impact imports totaling thousands of metric tons will have on their incomes, said RH 25 Grace Sansano. Many have begun to harvest their crops ahead of season in pursuit of good prices at the farm gate.

Israel Reguyal, Chair of the Bongabon Farmers Co-op, said they worry about prices dropping, as there is a large volume of onions left in cold storage, adding that their distribution has been slow in the past months.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) confirmed on Thursday an importation of 1,000 metric tons of white onions and 3,000 metric tons of red onions, with the intention of preempting price spikes on the product.