The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday said it allocated over P300 million in aid to boost the onion industry.
In a statement, the DA said of the total amount, the highest allocation is set for the establishment of cold storage facilities.
“Seven onion cold storage facilities amounting to P240.575 million will also be established this year in key production areas,” the DA said. For a 20,000-bag capacity, five cold storage facilities shall be built in Hermosa, Bataan; Talavera and Bongabon in Nueva Ecija; as well as in Rizal and Sablayan in Occidental Mindoro.
Two cold storage facilities with lower capacity shall also be built in areas in Pangasinan and Nueva Vizcaya. The DA also allocated P69.949 million for the distribution of seedlings and other farm inputs.
Marikina Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo meanwhile questioned the discrepancies in data provided by the DA regarding the onion shortage.
During Wednesday’s motu proprio hearing of the House Committee on Agriculture and Food, Quimbo described said figures presented by DA’s Bureau of Plant and Industry was “incredible.”
In 2022, Quimbo said the total supply of onions stood at 338,354.2 metric tons while the demand reached 363,937.3 metric tons.
She noted that from 2011 to 2021, the increase in annual demand is “modest” and “believable.” The increase was about five percent annually. Maricel Cruz
Quimbo said from 2021 to 2022, there was a 39 percent increase in demand for onions.
“That’s to me is a mystery. How can you explain that? Annually, the increase is only five percent,” she said. “Do you have an explanation? If you can’t explain the 39 percent increase in demand, you just invented the data and you’re justifying the high prices of onions,” the lawmaker said.