The Department of Agriculture (DA)  said on Tuesday that the country currently has an onion inventory that could meet the local demands until February next year.

DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa said that as of 21 June, there were almost 162,000 metric tons (MT) of red onion, over 11,500 MT of yellow onion, and 60 MT of shallots.

He, however, clarified that there is no glut as all harvested onions are currently kept in cold storage.

“When put together, our monthly consumption is about 21,000 metric tons — 17,000 of which are red and 4,000 of which are yellow. So, it will be out for about 8 months, from July [u]ntil February, and we still have enough supply,” De Mesa said.

Due to a forecast of oversupply brought about by the rise in domestic harvest and the delayed arrival of imported onions in the first weeks of the year, the DA imposed in January a temporary import ban on onions until May, which has been extended to July.

Possible import ban extension

Hence, with the current level of inventory, extending the import ban for the said root crop is possible, said De Mesa.

He noted they cannot determine the period of the recommended import ban period, as consultations with key industrial players still need to be done. 

De Mesa said importing onions amid high domestic supply will further drive its prices down in the local markets. 

“First, because we have a lot of stocks, right? When imported ones come in that are cheaper, it will drive down the price even lower. So, we also need to consider the hardship of our onion farmers,” he said, further noting that it is possible to only make provision for the importation of yellow onions due to the slight harvest volume.

“Because our yellow [onions] are only 11,569 and 4,000 metric tons per month. So, it will last close to two and a half to three months, possibly. If there is importation, it would be yellow [onions] only,” De Mesa added.