BONGABON, Nueva Ecija ­— Mayor Ricardo I. Padilla has urged the national government not to import onions during harvest time.

The statement came during a press conference at the Mayor’s Office on Friday here.

“Please don’t import during harvest time. Importation is a problem, production cannot sustain the country’s demand for onions,” he said.

He said that he is not against importation but the timing of the importation.

“The price goes down drastically. Cost of raising onions is very high, especially farm inputs,” he said, adding that this is a huge loss for farmers.

Aside from the lowering of prices, army worms are also contributing to the losses, adding that in 1 or 2 days, these pests can ravage a whole farm.

The mayor also said, “We don’t need cold storage facilities. Onion research institute is needed to know the problem of the onion industry in Bongabon.”

The official cited that research in soil matching, lack of seeds and the mismatch of farms inputs to the seeds and soil can boost the cost efficiency and yield higher production for onion producers.

The mayor is set to give his State Of Municipality Address on Sunday.

“I will report the status on harabas, and the lack of assistance to onion makers in Bongabon. Kulang na kulang talaga ang tulong para sa mga onion makers,” he said.

He reiterated that the number of onion farmers are 4,000, while the land area used for onion production is 4,500 hectares.

He said that the town of Bongabon can yield better numbers if there is research in soil testing, seedling type on soil, “but we can’t research since we don’t have seeds since we import onions.”