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Worried netizens make fun of the astronomically high onion prices in the country

Samahang Industriyang Agrikultura (Sinag) President Rosendo So said the group had already recommended to the Department of Agriculture (DA) last month to import 7,000 metric tons of white onions and 7,500 metric tons of red onions to address the issue of product shortages.

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A farmers’ group has warned the public that onions could sell for P400 per kilo due to the shortage in the supply of bulbs.

In a radio interview, Samahang Industriyang Agrikultura (Sinag) President Rosendo So said the group had already recommended to the Department of Agriculture (DA) last month to import 7,000 metric tons of white onions and 7,500 metric tons of red onions to address the issue of product shortages.

So shared, “We prefer affordable onions in the market, there is really a shortage. We already warned the DA that there will be a spike in the prices of onions, that’s why we recommended last month to import white onions in November, and this December, there is a need to import white and red onions.”

He suggested that traders and DA officials were working together to manipulate the supply of bulbs.

So expressed, “The people at the BPI (Bureau of Plant Industry) have been there for a long time. Only the heads are replaced. They know the consumption and the volume of production of onions to be able to plan if there is a need to import to prevent an increase in the prices of onions. It’s the consumers who suffer. The farmers do not benefit. What I can see is connivance between officials of the DA and the traders.”

So claims that at least 5,000 MT of onions were brought into the country in the month of October 2021. This figure is 16,700 MT in the month of November 2021, and 24,600 MT in the month of December 2021. “These imports were used to supply the markets until January to February [2022],” he also noted.

The planting season for onions began in October and would end in December, and the harvest season would begin in February and continue until April.  So noted that traders have full control of onion distribution.

He also explained that the harvest is between February and April. Traders usually buy onions from farmers for P35 to P40 per kilo, and they store the stocks in cold storage facilities. He furthered, “These are the stocks we are now consuming.”

Moreover, So disclosed last month that the red onions in the warehouses’ cold storage facilities had reached a critical low. To make matters worse, he said, despite the recent confiscation of white onions in various markets, smuggled onions continue to flood the market.

Filipinos have felt the effects of the onion price increase. Many people are now avoiding purchasing onions, while others have decided to make light of the situation. Netizens targeted President. During the election campaign, Bongbong Marcos promised to lower commodity prices.

https://twitter.com/ItsMeLoveElly/status/1597471732721647617?s=20

Some OFWs have joked that they’d buy onions from foreign countries and gift them to relatives in the Philippines as presents.

Netizens noted Marcos’s promise of a new golden age if he wins the presidency.

bongbong marcosIrwin AmbalKristine EvangelistaLani Plata CernaRosendo SoSinag

Written by Charles Teves

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