Agri chief OKs 16KMT onion imports

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. approved the importation of 16,000 metric tons (MT) of yellow onions to stabilize its price in the local markets as its stock is short for the remainder of the year.

In a draft memorandum of the Bureau of Plant and Industry (BPI), it indicated that the current local stock for fresh red onion is 135,551.40 MT, which is expected to last until March 2025.

Meanwhile, stocks for yellow onion are noted at 3,296.50 MT, expected to last until 25 August, or last Sunday.

Thus, the BPI said that they will be issuing Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearance (SPICs) for the importation of fresh yellow onion to 16,000 MT as the upcoming holiday season is seen to drive its demand to increase, which may result in a kick-up in its market prices.

“Actually, I approved that on Monday, the import of white or yellow onion because our stocks are already depleted. But we still have a lot of red onion,” Laurel told reporters on the sidelines of a poultry and livestock event in Pasay City.

“Our red onion supply is good until March of next year. So, only a limited quantity of white onion will be imported just to stabilize prices of white onion,” the Agri chief added.

He said onion imports will start arriving in batches by the end of this week or early next week.

“I did it in batches so that the market would not be flooded and the existing stocks of red onions would not be affected,” Laurel said, noting that SPICs will be issued every two weeks.

The next harvest season of the onion is expected to start in January next year, while its peak harvest is seen between March and April, said the BPI.

Based on the Department of Agriculture’s latest price watch, the local red onion retail price in major wet markets in Metro Manila is P70 to P150 per kilo, while the local white onion is P80 to P150 per kilo.