Salceda sees onion prices going down to P50/kilo 'soon'

Onion prices in the country, which range from P300 to 700 per kilo, will go down to as low as P50 per kilo "soon," Albay Representative Joey Salceda said Friday.

"I think everything will normalize, we will have a reversion, it will go back to P50 per kilo," said Salceda, who chairs the House Committee on Ways and Means, on ANC.

"You can cut all my five fingers if it does not," he added. "It will go back to P50 soon."

Without mentioning names, Salceda said onion supply is being hoarded by a "mafia," resulting in high prices of the product.

"Pagpasok dito, the mafia controls the ports. Punta ka diyan sa Subic, 50 containers diyan filled with onion deliveries...so these came in, they deliver little by little," he said.

"They initially brought prices down, killed local Filipino farmers and now they control the supply."

A House inquiry on unabated increase in onion prices has been scheduled on Monday, January 23.

In a statement, AGRI party-list Representative Wilbert Lee called for greater collaboration between the government and agriculture stakeholders in battling agricultural smuggling.

Lee made the call after various private sector stakeholders offered to help the government put a stop to the smuggling of agricultural products that has affected local production and contributed to the high prices of food.

"Nariyan na po ang ating agri-stakeholders na nag-aalok ng tulong. I hope the government accepts this offer, as we need all the help we can get to comprehensively address agri-smuggling in our country," Lee said.

"Dahil nasa ground sila, alam nila ang pasikot-sikot, alam nila ang epekto ng smuggling. They can ensure that government's actions are truly targeted and thus, efficient and effective These stakeholders have key insights that policy-makers and implementers might miss out on," he added.

Lee also lauded the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG), which has been working with the Department of Agriculture's counter-intelligence team in various operations in entry ports such as Manila and Subic.

"Hopefully, we can expect their help not only in enforcement, but in every aspect of our fight against agri-smuggling, including the creation of stronger laws and policies that would effectively address this long-standing problem," Lee said.

The lawmaker also urged President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to institutionalize the inspectorate and enforcement division of the DA, which is currently headed by Agriculture Assistant Secretary James Layug.  —KBK, GMA Integrated News