DA to probe high prices of onions in NCR markets despite drop in farmgate costs

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 24) — The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday said it will investigate why the prices of onions sold in Metro Manila markets remain high despite the drop in farmgate prices in several major onion distributors.

Earlier this month, Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. ordered the suspension of onion imports until May due to a supply glut caused by the entry of delayed imports after December last year, which led to the drop in farmgate prices.

DA spokesperson Arnel de Mesa said the prices of red onions in Metro Manila range from ₱100 to ₱190 per kilo now.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Free Farmers (FFF) said in a separate statement that the prices of onions dropped from ₱10 to ₱50 per kilo in Bayambang, Pangasinan, the province's major producer of onions. It added that onion prices in Ilocos Sur dropped to as low as ₱6 to ₱8 per kilo.

The farmers’ group attributed the huge drop in farmgate prices to the entry of late onion imports, a worm outbreak, and limited water in reduced irrigation in major distributors of the country which are Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, and Mindoro Occidental.

“Traders are claiming that recent onion importations are causing them to buy local varieties from farmers at low prices. The outbreak of army worms called harabas, coupled with reduced groundwater levels caused by El Niño, are also affecting the size, quality and output of onions," FFF Pangasinan president Rodolfo Camacho said in a statement.

FFF National President Leonardo Montemayor, a former agriculture secretary, claimed that allowing entries of imports after December violates the DA’s rules on protecting local farmers from imports from January to April, the harvesting period in the country.

Citing De Mesa in October last year, the Presidential Communications Office said that average local onion prices in September and October 2023 ranged from ₱125 to ₱142 in Metro Manila.

CNN Philippines correspondent Currie Cator contributed to this story.