Opposition leader urges govt to address smuggling to stop soaring onion prices

The Marcos administration should intensify its efforts to combat the smuggling of onions to address the unabated hike in onion prices which already reached around P600 to P720 per kilo, House Deputy Minority Leader France Castro of ACT Teachers party-list said Friday.

Castro made the call after the government announced that it is considering implementing a suggested retail price of P250 per kilo of red onions based on the recommendation made during a recent stakeholders’ meeting.

"For the short term, the government must extend support and subsidies to Filipino farmers to increase their yield and lower production costs. [But] the administration should also put a stop to smuggling as it is killing our local farmers," she said.

Castro cited the reports from peasant group Anakpawis and news accounts which alleged that smuggled vegetables from China, valued at around P539 million, reached the Philippines from September to November last year.

The amount was almost equivalent to the value of smuggled agricultural products the Bureau of Customs seized from January to September 2022.

These smuggled vegetables, including onions, entered via Subic in Zambales, Malabon City, Cagayan de Oro City, Valenzuela City, and other areas.

Castro said that the smuggling of vegetables, around P2.5 million per day, had wreaked havoc on the livelihood of farmers, with Benguet farmers losing 20-40% of their orders from 2021 to the present.

She added that smuggling also depressed the farm gate price of carrots to P7 per kilo from the usual P95 per kilo, amid its production cost of P25 per kilo.

In March, Nueva Ecija and Occidental Mindoro farmers threw away their onion harvest due to the low farm gate prices of P30 per kilo.

“Smugglers are trying to cash in on this. So for the long term, land should be given to farmers so that the food supplies of our country would be secure and not be dependent on imports," Castro said.

"The Marcos administration should heed our advice and decisively act to lower the price of onions and other agricultural products. Band-aid solutions would simply not do," Castro added.

The Agriculture Department, which President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. heads, earlier advised the public not to buy a kilo of red onions since it has become so expensive. — DVM, GMA Integrated News