By Brian Jules Campued
The Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has ordered a temporary suspension to onion imports until May.
In a statement released on Friday, Jan. 19, Laurel issued the order to “prevent further depressing onion prices due to supply glut.”
The suspension could be extended through July if domestic harvest of onions remains sufficient to meet local demand, according to the Agriculture department.
“But that is on condition that if there is a sudden supply shortfall, we will have to import earlier,” said Laurel.
However, the warmer temperatures caused by the El Niño phenomenon — the full effect of which could be felt around March and April — could spawn more pests which may affect onion production.
The agency said the increased supply has lowered farm gate prices of the high value crop between P50 to P70 per kilogram, and could fall further when more onions are harvested next month.
Even in some areas in Nueva Ecija, which accounts for 97% of onion production in Luzon, the prices have dropped to as low as P20 per kilogram.
The agriculture chief also attributed the oversupply to fresh harvest and shipment delays of 99 tons of imported onions which arrived in the Philippines between Jan. 1 and 15.
Laurel met with representatives of the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. on Thursday, Jan. 18, to discuss the situation.
Meanwhile, the PCAFI said the country could expect an onion supply surplus as the land area dedicated to the planting of the crop has increased by 40%.
It also noted that the expected damage from the armyworm infestation in some areas in Tarlac and Nueva Ecija would only be around 5% of standing crops.
Moreover, the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) reported that only about 366 hectares out of 10,217 hectares of farm lands planted to onion have been infested by armyworms.
Out of the affected areas, only the crops on 6.9 hectares have sustained total damage while 359.1 hectares were partially damaged, according to the BPI. – cf
