The Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) welcomed the Department of Agriculture’s decision to suspend the importation of onions as local growers prepare to harvest and sell their produce.
SINAG president Rosendo So said the suspension, earlier announced by Agriculture chief Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., would assist onion farmers in the country, particularly in Nueva Ecija, sell their produce at a good price.
Tiu Laurel temporarily suspended the importation of onions until May this year amid oversupply that weighed down the price of the spice in the domestic market.
The harvest of white onions, according to So, has already started in Nueva Ecija. He mentioned that farmers are selling their produce at P18 to P20 a kilogram, which is a break-even price.
One of the reasons for this, according to So, is that markets are still dominated by the supply of imported white onions.
The SINAG leader expressed gratitude to the DA for their prompt action on their request made days ago to halt importation, as the harvest of white onions is expected to peak in February while red onions will peak in March.
The suspension of imports is beneficial to onion farmers, So said, to stabilize the price of onions, especially since more onion farmers have planted the spice this season due to the good price and high demand last year.
So emphasized that for farmers to earn, farm gate prices must be at least P30 to P45 per kilo.
While the suspension is expected to last until May, there is the possibility of extension until July, according to So.
There is a need to reassess it after 45 days to determine if the local supply of onions can still meet market demand, aiming to prevent a possible spike in prices.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) was asked to scrap the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) in poultry and pork imports while also ensuring that fees collected from the Safeguard Measures Act implementation be channelled for the competitiveness of the agriculture sector.
Laurel said the suspension may be extended until July depending on the harvest volume and the market situations.
“In principle, I agree with no onion importation until July. But that is on condition that if there is a sudden supply shortfall, we will have to import earlier. We don’t know what would happen because of El Nino,” Laurel explained.
The secretary also met on Thursday with representatives of the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) to discuss , among others, the surge in domestic supply of onions due to bumper harvest and arrival of the additional importations last December.
About 99 tons of imported onions came in several tranches last month up to and 15, 2024 when the harvest of locally produced onions started to peak.
The increased supply pushed down the farm gate prices of the onion between P50 and P70 a kilo, and could fall further as harvesting continued in February.
In some areas in Nueva Ecija, which accounts for 97 percent of onion production in Luzon, prices have dropped to as low as P20 a kilo.
Luzon accounts for 65 percent of local onion production.
To recall, prices of onion surged to a record high P720 a kilo due to tight supply in 2022.
Members of the PCAFI said they expected a glut since an additional 40 percent of land area were planted to onions. They added that despite the reported infestation of armyworms in some areas in Tarlac and Nueva Ecija, oversupply was imminent as the pest was expected to damage only about around five percent of production.
Warmer temperatures and a prolonged dry spell caused by El Nino could spawn more pests that could undermine onion production. The full impact of El Nino is expected to be felt around March and April.
The DA and the PCAFI agreed to meet every 45 days to review the supply situation and recalibrate import schedule and volume. The next meeting will be in early March.