-
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. says more cold storage facilities will be built to stabilize the supply and price of onions
-
Marcos said in a meeting with Department of Agriculture officials the government will increase the area for onion crops and provide farmers good onion seeds to plant
-
The government delayed imposing a P250/kg suggested retail price for onions in view of the approaching harvest season
Keeping onions in cold storage after harvest to prolong their shelf life is on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s mind in order to stabilize the supply and price of the spice.
But he said there is a lack of cold chain facilities in the country for onions, a daily need in almost every Filipino dish that has become as precious as gold due to its scarcity.
Marcos expressed concern over stored onions deteriorating even before they reach the market due to a dearth of suitable cold storage in a meeting on January 24 with officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA), which he also heads, the Presidential Communications Office said.
“We need more cold storage, we need a better, stronger cold chain so that we can also maintain and preserve our agricultural products,” Marcos quoted by the PCO in mixed English and Filipino.
“So that’s our plan, that’s what we’ll do for the immediate needs, those agricultural products whose prices keep rising.”
Onions can be stored in cold storage for as long as 10 months without deterioration if they are dried first for a few days after harvesting. Before they are supplied to the market, onions are heated in temperature-controlled conditions to prevent condensation.
Along with building more cold storage facilities, the government is carrying out a program to help onion farmers increase their yield to stabilize the supply and bring down the commodity’s price.
“We’ll do this by increasing the area that is being planted to onions, number one,” Marcos said.
“Secondly… the DA will help by providing inputs. So, the first part of that is, we are going to the seed producers so that they will produce good seeds that we can give to the farmers at some point. That’s what they need as inputs.”
The coming harvest season for onions is just a few weeks away, prompting the DA to defer an extension of the P250 suggested retail price (SRP) of the staple due to its forecast seasonal price decline.
A supply boost following the entry of more than 5,000 metric tons (MT) of imported onions may also see prices of the aromatic bulb fall by around P100 to P150 per kilo.
The country’s per capita consumption of onion is 2.341 kg/year, or an estimated demand of 21,000 MT per month, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
PSA had earlier reported that onion production in the third quarter of 2022 was 23.30 MT, some 1.7% more than the 22.92 MT produced in the same period a year earlier.
DA’s 2022 supply and demand outlook data showed the country has a 120% sufficiency level with 312,830 MT of onions.
The inventory of locally produced red onions in cold storages nationwide was 2,209.45 MT as of December 15 last year, PCO said. There were no yellow onions and imported red onions in in cold storages.
To provide affordable onions, KADIWA stores offered native red and white onions for P170 a kilo, with each customer allowed to buy a maximum of three kilos.
On January 10, DA announced the country was importing about 22,000 MT of the spice to address its high price and supply shortage.
READ: PH importing 21,060MT of onions to stabilize price
GMA News reported before Christmas 2022 that the price of red onions rose above P700 a kilo in some markets in Metro Manila, with DA saying that supply in the country was good only for four days.Onions prices climbed from P140 in September, P280 in November, P300 on December 12-16, P380 on December 19-23, and P720 on December 28, GMA News said. – Vir Lumicao
