The Philippines needs at least P6 billion to build facilities for onions to fill the 100,000 metric tons (MT) capacity shortage for cold storage for the commodity.
“The government needs to develop and implement a holistic policy and strategic methodologies to balance supply and demand and mitigate undue market volatility. This can be undertaken as a concerted effort among concerned government agencies, GFIs (government financial institutions) and private sector stakeholders working together towards the realization of the National Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization and Industrialization Plan,” said Anthony Dizon, president of the Cold Chain Association of the Philippines Inc. (CCAP).
At present, the country only has 100,000 MT in cold storage capacity for onions.
In a press briefing yesterday, Dizon said every 2,500 MT-capacity of cold storage for onions requires P150 million for the building, the plant and equipment, excluding the cost of the land.
Dizon said government can pursue partnership with private sector which will operate the facility. Government will own the cold storage.
CCAP said the operating cost of a 2,500 MT facility is around P1.5 to P2 million per month consisting mostly of electricity and labor and a storage cost per kilogram of onion per month.
CCAP said some cold storage owners are also traders of onions to make the business more viable.
CCAP said with little access to credit, onion growers turn to traders who can book storage space in advance, and at times pay a higher price for their crop.
“The characteristics of the product and the existing distribution system like the wet market and retail trade provide the necessary elements for traders to play a role,” Dizon said.
Citing data from the Department of Agriculture (DA), CCAP estimated demand for onion nationwide is about 360,000 MT which translates to a per capita consumption of about 3 kg per year while local production is only 70 percent sufficient or a shortfall of about 100,000 MT.
In a separate interview, Rex Estoperez, DA deputy spokesperson, said400 MT of imported yellow onion and 800 MT of imported red onion have arrived yesterday.
However, Estoperez said the shipments have yet to reach retail markets pending clearance by the Bureau of Plant Industry.
The DA is yet to set the price cap but based on its monitoring of select wet markets in the National Capital Region, as of yesterday, local red onion is sold at P200 to P350 per kg, local white onion at P200 to P350 per kg and imported white onion at P220 to P300 per kg. -J. Macapagal
