DA allots P327M to boost onion industry

The Department of Agriculture has allotted P326.97 million worth of 'interventions' for the onion industry in a bid to arrest the spike in the price of the commodity and address the country's supply gap.

The Presidential Communications Office said Wednesday, P240.575 million will be for the establishment of seven new onion cold storage facilities.

These cold storage facilities is expected to benefit onion growers in Pangasinan, Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, and Occidental Mindoro among others.

There's also P69.949 million allotted for onion production support services including provision of seeds, seedlings, and other farm inputs. P6.486 million has also been earmarked for farm production-related machinery and equipment distribution.

Meanwhile, P2.359 million has been set aside for production facilities and P2.5 million for postharvest and processing equipment. 

The government had allowed the importation of more than 21,000 metric tons of onions to fill a supply gap and control the continuous spike in the price of the commodity in the market.

But only 3,500 metric tons of onions have arrived in the Philippines so far according to the DA.

Earlier, local onion farmers expressed concern that they would suffer losses because of the competition with cheaper imported onions. They were also worried about the government's imposition of the P125 per kilo of red onions.

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. currently sits as the Secretary of the DA. — VAL, GMA Integated News