MANILA, Philippines — Cartels, again, are the culprits behind the scarcity and high prices of onions in the country, Sen. Cynthia Villar said yesterday.
Villar, who chairs the Senate committee on agriculture and food, said there appears to be no other reason why onions are expensive and in short supply, except that the traders, who have been buying the crop from local farmers at low prices, are the same ones importing and hoarding the vegetable to make inventory they release to markets costly.
“They (cartels) have complete control over the supply so they create artificial demand to increase prices… that’s what we should solve so that this does not happen again,” Villar told re-porters in Filipino after presiding over a hearing of her committee.
She noted that the committee uncovered the onion cartels in 2013 but authorities have not been able to dismantle them.
She said the volume importation of onions and agricultural products should be pegged on data of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) so they can be calibrated and justified.
Among the solutions to curb smuggling, Villar said, is to minimize or cut the involvement of traders by helping farmers go directly to consumers or markets.
“So, the value chain is important where the farmer has complete control of the value chain,” she said.
During the committee hearing on bills strengthening the livestock and dairy industry, it was learned the Department of Agriculture (DA) allowed the over importation of pork through a lax policy.
Villar cited data from the PSA that in the last three years, the volume of local pork production has been enough to meet local demand.
Bureau of Animal Industry officer-in-charge Paul Limson told the committee that pork import applications are filed online with the agency having no say on the volume.
Limson said this was the policy in place when he was appointed to the DA sub-agency last year.
PSA data showed that in 2021, demand for pork was at 1.572 million kilos while production was at 1.696 million kilos.
But the BAI, according to official data presented to the hearing, gave import clearances for 494,789 kilos of pork, leading to an oversupply of the meat by 618,067 kilos.
“That’s not right. You have a doctorate. How could that be logical? If you will manage the animal industry, you should determine the demand and supply. If there’s a lack, that’s the time you import. If there’s excess, why will you import? It’s the importer who will determine that? Where did you learn that?” Villar asked Limson in Filipino.