Ban on onion imports extended until July

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has extended the ban on the importation of onions until July to prevent a glut in local supplies following historic production levels, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. announced the extended import ban yesterday, pointing out that there is “no reason to import” in the immediate future since cold storages are overflowing with onions.

Onion retail prices are expected to remain stable or even decline this year due to better supply situation of the country.

In January, the DA chief temporarily suspended onion importation until this month as the government and industry stakeholders anticipate better output as farmers were encouraged to expand planted areas by the high prices last year.

Back then, Tiu Laurel floated the possibility of extending the import ban depending on the domestic harvest of the high value crop.

The STAR broke the story that the country’s onion production in the first half is en route to an unprecedented level driven by expansion in planted areas by farmers encouraged by high prices last year.

Tiu Laurel noted that prevailing market prices of onion have been stable this year and are even lower compared to last year’s levels.

“Onion prices have been good this year. The latest price of red onion in Balintawak is between P60 and P70 per kilogram while white onion is about P60 per kg,” he said.

Red onion prices in Metro Manila markets ranged between P70 and P160 per kg as of May 17, while white onions retailed from P60 to P130 per kg, according to the latest price monitoring report of the DA.

Current onion prices have declined by 70 percent compared to the recorded price level of P160 to P200 per kg in the same period of last year, based on DA monitoring reports.

The DA high value crops program is projecting an onion harvest of over 170,000 metric tons (MT) in the second quarter following an expansion in planted areas. The country already produced 201,000 MT of onions in the first quarter, the highest ever in that given period.

If the projections materialize, then it will raise total onion output in the first half alone to at least 370,000 MT – the highest in history – which is more than enough the country’s estimated annual onion requirement.

The country consumes anywhere between 270,000 MT and 300,000 MT of onions, which already takes into account the wastage.

The Philippines harvests bulk of its onion output during the first semester with minimal production during the second half of the year due to climatic conditions.

The total local onion production in the first half usually serves as the basis for the government in determining the amount of imports that would be allowed in a given year.

As of May 10, the country has 180,680.47 MT of red onions, 33,282 MT of yellow onions and 72.5 MT of shallots in cold storages nationwide.