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The Department of Agriculture will issue import permits for 17,000 metric tons of red onions and 4,000 MT of yellow onions to meet the holiday season demand
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The Bureau of Plant Industry will grant import clearances for fresh onions from China, India and the Netherlands
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The importation aims to stabilize market prices before the local produce peak harvest in March-April 2024 and prevent a repeat of last year’s price surge
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Imported fresh onions must arrive by December 31, avoiding overlap with the local harvest
The Department of Agriculture (DA) will issue permits for the importation of 17,000 metric tons of red onions and 4,000 MT of yellow onions to meet high demand during the holiday season.
DA through the Bureau of Plant Industry will issue the sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for fresh onions sourced from China, India, and the Netherlands.
The decision is based on the country’s per capita onion consumption, aiming to ensure an ample supply and stabilize prices in anticipation of the local produce peak harvest in March-April 2024.
The DA said the intervention is intended to prevent a repeat of last year’s price surge, where red onions reached P800 per kilogram in December 2022 due to supply issues. As of September, retail prices in Metro Manila ranged from P120 to P190 per kilo.
To avoid coinciding with the upcoming harvest, all imported fresh onions must arrive in the country by December 31. An extension of the arrival date is possible, contingent on available stocks and market prices.
READ: Arrest of big-time onion smuggler a major step in anti-smuggling drive, says BOC chief
