QUEZON CITY, (PIA) — Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. announced on Monday that he has directed the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) to conduct inspections of all onion warehouses nationwide.
This move aims to determine whether newly harvested onion supplies are being withheld from the market, amid rising prices and concerns about potential hoarding.
Onion harvests were expected to begin this month, which typically would provide fresh supplies to alleviate current high prices.
However, Secretary Laurel voiced concerns that these harvests might not be reaching consumers as anticipated.
“Last Friday, I instructed the Bureau of Plant Industry and its team to visit all onion cold storage facilities across the country and inspect whether newly harvested onions are being kept there instead of being sold,” he said. “If they are, that’s wrong. Onions are typically stored toward the middle or end of the harvest season, not at the start. This clearly points to price manipulation—it’s hoarding.”
Hoarding and price manipulation are illegal practices in the Philippines and are punishable by law.
The BPI is expected to complete the inspections within four to seven days, with a report anticipated by the end of the week.
Earlier this month, Laurel authorized the importation of 3,000 metric tons of red onions and 1,000 metric tons of white onions to mitigate the anticipated shortage before the harvest season.
Despite these measures, onion prices remain elevated.
Recent Department of Agriculture (DA) monitoring revealed that red onions are priced between P140 and P240 per kilo, while white onions range from P130 to P150 per kilo.
A month ago, red onions were quoted at P140 per kilo, but prices have since surged to around P200 per kilo.
The BPI had previously projected that early harvests would contribute several metric tons to the supply, with an expected total of approximately 33,000 metric tons available by March. (JCO/PIA-NCR)
