Shocked at onion prices? DA says don't buy a whole kilo

The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday advised consumers not to buy a kilogram of onions as its prices increase to more than triple than the suggested retail price (SRP).

In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, DA deputy spokesperson Rex Estoperez said that in select markets in Metro Manila, the price of large onions already stood at P550/kg, while the smaller ones were at P440/kg.

He said that the SRP of onions was only at P170/kg, while the farmgate prices were around P300/kg.

“To be reasonable on that and practical — pero mukhang maraming magagalit sa 'kin — e 'di ‘wag tayong bumili ng isang kilo, di ba? Kung ano lang ang makakaya nating bilhin, ayun muna,” Estoperez said.

(It seems like a lot of people will be angry with me on this, but to be reasonable and practical, let's not buy a kilo of onions. Let’s buy only what we can afford.)

In October, the DA set an SRP of P170.00 per kilogram of red onions in wet markets in the National Capital Region, following the increase in prices of agricultural commodities.

P720/kilo

In a separate Balitanghali report by GMA News' Bernadette Reyes, the price of red onions at the Las Piñas Public Market soared to P720 per kilogram on Wednesday, which is higher compared to P600 per kilo on Tuesday.

The price increased because vendors had to pay their suppliers P680 per kilo on Wednesday. They also had to pay for the parking fee in the market and for the shipping charges from their suppliers.

According to vendors, the price could still increase in the next few days.

Importation

Estoperez said that the DA will still check if there is a need to import onions early next year if the supply does not normalize by then.

This came after his announcement on Tuesday that the DA is no longer considering the importation of onions given the expected harvest in January and February.

“Tignan natin this coming January and February na harvest season kung talagang ganu'n pa kanipis [ang supply]. Then let’s decide kung ano ang gagawin natin. Baka naman doon sa pag-produce natin, tanungin natin ang sarili natin, sapat ba talaga ang ating pino-produce o kailangan nating mag-angkat? Baka may problema rin tayo sa ating mga interventions sa pamahalaan kung bakit ganoon ang produksyon ng sibuyas,” he said.

(Let's see this coming harvest season in January and February if the onion supply will still be thin. Let’s decide by then what to do. We should ask ourselves: Are we really producing enough or do we have to import? We may also have a problem with our government interventions as to why onion production is the way it is.)

Estoperez earlier said the DA will focus on possible interventions for the commodity, including credit for farmers, and providing them assistance in terms of logistics, transportation, cold storage, and packaging. —with a report from Anna Felicia Bajo/KG, GMA Integrated News