THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has approved the importation of 16,000 metric tons (MT) of imported yellow and white onions.
The agency said the volume will be allowed in batches every week until the end of the year so as not to negatively affect prices as supply is expected to normalize by January when local producers start to harvest.
“Our stocks (of white and yellow onions) in the country is already depleted. But we still have a lot of red onions and is still good until March of next year. So, this is just a limited quantity of imported white onion just to stabilize prices,” said DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel at the sidelines of a pork convention in Pasay City yesterday.
DA anticipates increased demand demand for fresh yellow onion during the holiday season.
The agency added that for the planned entry of as much as 16,000 MT of white and yellow onions, possible extension on its must-arrive date will still be subject to change depending on the actual availability of stocks and prices in the market.
Around 87 percent of areas planted to onion have red varieties while 13 percent are planted with white onions with the balance planted to shallots.
Based on data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, the country produced a total of 252,487.47 MT of mature onion bulb in 2023, up by 4.7 percent from 2022’s 241,033.06 MT.
Based on monitoring by the DA on public markets in the National Capital Region as of last Tuesday, the price of local red onion is at P70 to P150 per kg and local white onion at P80 to P150 per kg.
