Cartels are the reason behind the high price of onions in the market, according to Senator Cynthia Villar, chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, on Saturday.

Villar believed traders buying crops from local farmers were responsible for hoarding vegetables to manipulate price increases.

"They [cartels] have complete control over the supply so they create artificial demand to increase prices… that’s what we should solve so that this does not happen again,” she said.

Villar recalled the investigation in 2013 wherein onion cartels were in control over the onion supply in the Philippines.

"Naimbestigahan na namin 'yan since 2013 talagang may onion cartel. 'Yung namimili sa farmers, binabarat nila ang farmers, sila rin ang nag-iimport so they have the complete control sa supply kaya nagke-create minsan sila ng artificial demand para ma-iincrease nila ang price kasi nasa kanila lahat ng supply," she said.

She also said that importation is only a temporary solution if there is an existing shortage in onion supply.

Prices of onion have already reached P600 to P700 per kilo in the market.