DA chief defends onion importation
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel on Monday shrugged off criticisms of the agency’s decision to import up to 4,000 metric tons (MT) of onions amid complaints from Filipino farmers that the government’s importation is killing the local onion industry.
At a press briefing in Malacañang, Tiu-Laurel defended the importation, calling it a “strategic move” to address the looming shortage for onions this month.
“What we did is very tactical—limited volume, limited quantity, limited time. So, it should address any spikes,” he said.
“The only question is the volume of onion that would be imported, because as to the question of whether to import or not in February, it is really necessary,” he added.
Lesson not learned
Tiu-Laurel made the statement in response to farmers’ groups who criticized the decision of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to increase onion imports ahead of harvest season.
Jayson Cainglet, executive director of the Samahang Industry ng Agriculture (Sinag), said the DA announcement has raised fears among farmers who have been forced to harvest their onions prematurely in anticipation of the deluge of imported bulbs that would pull down prices.
Danilo Ramos, chair of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, also said in a statement that “the government is repeating its past mistakes. It allows imports to flood the market at the worst possible time—when local farmers are harvesting.”
The group noted that last year, prices of red onions dropped to as low as P10 per kilo in Dagupan City due to oversupply, while farmers in Nueva Ecija had to throw away their produce as cold storage facilities overflowed and traders preferred buying imported onions.
But the DA chief said he was standing by his decision, adding: “I’m here to manage. I am not a farmer; I am not an importer. I am the DA secretary and [I am] here to manage the situation.”
Tiu-Laurel cited data from the Bureau of Plant Industry that for February, the country faces a looming shortage of 7,000 MT of onions.
“What we are opening up [with the importation] is for only 4,000 tons—1,000 tons for white; 3,000 tons for red,” he said.
“So, it’s not even enough to fill in the perceived gap or estimated gap, so there’s nothing to worry [about],” he said.
The DA chief said he cannot be idle and wait for the situation to develop until the local farmers have harvested their crops.
“I just received [word] this morning after another survey that I had conducted yesterday in Nueva Ecija, specifically the large-scale onion producers in Bongabon, Rizal, San Jose City, are saying that their full harvest will still be on the third week of March and even up to April 2025,” he said.
The price of red onion may spike to P110 and white onion to P170 if the DA would not do anything, Tiu-Laurel said.
“Do I have to wait [for local farmers to harvest] before making a decision? I have to think of the consumers also, not just the farmers,” he stressed. —WITH A REPORT FROM GILLIAN VILLANUEVA
