OPENING REMARKS DURING COMMITTEE HEARING ON THE SOARING PRICES OF ONION
Committee on Agriculture and Food
Senator Recto Room and via Cisco Webex
16 January 2023, 10:00 A.M.

Due to the continuous increase of onion price, Senator Imee Marcos filed a Resolution to conduct an inquiry regarding this matter.

According to the Department of Agriculture Price Monitoring, from July to August 2022, the price of local red onion jumped from 90 to 140 pesos and by October to 200 pesos per kg. During the holiday season, it went up as high as 550-700.

During the holiday season in the previous years, the average price of onion is more or less 200 pesos. However, in 2022, the price is 550 to 700 pesos per kilogram which is 275-360% higher compared to previous years.

*Data from Department of Agriculture Price Monitoring

Based on the report of the Philippine Statistics Authority, we have a deficiency of 2,140.83 MT for 2022. However, this will not justify the price of 550-700 pesos because in 2019 we also had a deficiency of 12, 663.91 MT but the price during that year's holiday season reached only up to 180 pesos.

(in metric tons)

Also according to the Bureau of Plant and Industry, during the last quarter of 2022, a total of 947.84 MT were confiscated and intercepted by the Bureau of Customs.

Over the years we have been producing 75.83 percent of our demand.

On January 6, 2023, the Department of Agriculture gave a go signal to issue Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearance (SPSIC) for the importation of a total of 21,060 MT of fresh yellow and fresh red onion. Importers are given until January 27, 2023 for their shipments to arrive in the country.

According to the DA, this is to address the supply gap before the peak harvest in 2023 and to stabilize the continuous increase of onions in the market.

The timing of the arrival of these imported onions will hit the local onion growers as harvest season for local onions is expected to peak from the third week of January to April.

Let this public hearing be the chance for the Senate to listen to the justifications, concerns and recommendations of everyone invited today in relation to the issue on price of onion in the market.