DA raises price ceiling for imported red onions

The Department of Agriculture (DA) is raising the maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for imported red onions in wet markets.

In an interview with reporters on Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. confirmed the price adjustment.

“We adjusted the MSRP for red onions to P150 per kilo from P120 per kilo, (and will take effect) starting tomorrow,” he said.

“But yellow onions or white onions will remain at P120 per kilo,” Tiu Laurel added.

The DA chief explained that the higher MSRP was caused by the increase in the prices of red onions from source countries such as China, Holland, and India.

“Thus, we have to adjust as we see… the dollar strengthened while the peso weakened. That’s part of the equation,” he said.

The Agriculture chief called on market players to comply with the updated MSR as demand is expected to rise during the holiday season. 

“We are hoping everyone will cooperate to ensure stable prices and supply given the demand during the Christmas season,” Tiu Laurel said.

He also emphasized the need to diversify the country’s onion sources, pointing out that China currently dominates the Philippines’ import supply. 

“We do not want to be dependent on just one source,” he said, adding that the government is looking for alternative suppliers to build a more resilient and competitive supply chain.

Tiu Laurel also said that onion importation will cease by January, ahead of the domestic harvest beginning in February to protect local onion producers. 

The Agriculture chief said the schedule is intended to prevent imported stocks from suppressing farmgate prices and to support local farmers during the crucial harvest period. —MCG/RF, GMA Integrated News