DA may allow imports of onions later this year

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) may authorize the importation of onions later this year to prevent price spikes as latest projections indicate that nationwide supply of the spice may not last until December.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. confirmed to The STAR that he would approve the importation of both red and yellow onions later this year to augment domestic supplies to meet the country’s requirement.

Tiu Laurel, however, disclosed that the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) has not made any recommendations yet on how much volume of onions would be imported this year.

The recommendation is expected to be on Tiu Laurel’s table as early as the first week of July to give way for the remaining onion harvest this month.

The country’s red onion stocks as of June 13 stood at 85,755 metric tons, according to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).

Some 3,547 MT of red onions are still expected to be harvested until the end of the month.

The total projected onion stocks is around 89,332 MT, which is enough to last until Nov. 13, the BPI said.

Meanwhile, yellow onion supplies reached 11,740 MT, which may last until Sept. 2, based on BPI estimates. Some 137 MT of yellow onions are left to be harvested until the end of June.

The country will need an additional supply of almost 32,000 MT of red onions to ensure enough stocks of the spice until the end of the year, based on a daily nationwide consumption of 585.52 MT.

For yellow onions, the country may need an additional stock of about 13,500 MT to ensure year-round supply, based on a daily consumption of 146.38 MT.

Last year, the DA did not allow the importation of a single red onion following a bumper harvest that resulted in a supply surplus.

However, some of the stocks last year sprouted due to overstaying in cold storage, resulting in wastage. Some of the maturing crops that were supposed to be harvested last February were devastated by typhoons.

The confluence of these events forced the DA to allow minimal imports of onions in the first quarter of about 1,000 MT red onions and 3,000 MT yellow onions.

The DA through the BPI usually allows the importation of onions after determining the shortfall in domestic stocks.

The country harvests onions usually once in a year during the dry season. The harvested stocks form part of the DA’s, through the Bureau of Plant Industry, onion supply and demand estimation.

In 2023, onion prices soared to a record-high of P700 per kilo after the government did not allow importation in late 2022 despite a projected shortfall in local supplies.