THERE will be no importation of onion happening in the coming months even as current prices of the commodity soar to P520 per kilo.
DA deputy spokesperson Rex Estoperez said Tuesday prices of onions have already reached up to P520 per kilogram in select markets in Metro Manila, with farmgate prices up to P300 per kilogram.
Monitoring of the DA shows that prices of local red onion in Metro Manila markets averaged P500 per kilogram on Tuesday, December 27, while there were no stocks available for the local white onion and the imported varieties.
Prices have even hit as high as P650 per kilogram at the Pritil Public Market in Manila, and up to P600 per kilogram at the Las Piñas market and others in Marikina, Guadalupe, and San Andres.
This is more than double the P170 per kilogram SRP set in October, which the DA said was imposed.
“Ang presyo naman, ang nagdidikta niyan ay supply and demand, so kung mahina ang supply mong nanggagaling po sa ating produksyon, ang presyo ay tataas,” Estoperez said during the public briefing.
“Meron tayong supply, hindi sobra-sobra [We have supplies, but not in abundance]” he added.
Prices have continued to increase for months now, with local red onions averaging P280 per kilogram on November 25, P250 per kilogram on November 11, and P180 per kilogram on October 25.
Estoperez said it would be hard to dictate prices of the commodity given the high cost of production, and strictly enforcing the SRP would deter farmers from selling.
“Mukhang sa enforcement, mahihirapan tayo dun kasi kung ilalagay natin sa ating mga kamay, ‘pag sabihin na natin, magdidikita, wala nang magbebenta niyan kasi mataas ang presyo ng puhunan nila,” he said.
He also noted that the harvest season of onions is expected in the coming months, but there is still no estimate as to the volume due to the recent typhoons that hit the country.
Some of the harvests are expected before the end of the year, which the DA plans to make available to the public through the Kadiwa or “Katurang sa Diwa at Gawa para sa Masaganang Ani at Mataas na Kita.”
metrosundaily
