Onion prices poised to surge again, reaching P500-P700 per kilo

Farmers' group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) has issued a warning about the soaring retail prices of onions in the Philippines. SINAG executive director Jayson Cainglet stated that the cost could reach as high as P500 to P700 per kilo due to an abrupt spike in prices. Cainglet called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) to inspect cold storage facilities and determine inventory levels. SINAG president Rosendo So added that stocks of white onions would be depleted by July, emphasizing the need for imported white onions to prevent a shortage. BPI spokesperson Diego Roxas confirmed the limited stock of white onions until mid-July and admitted that final figures for local onion production had yet to be determined. Both SINAG and the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) urged the DA and BPI to allow calibrated importation of onions to address the potential shortage.

In response, a senior official of the DA, Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban, assured the public that there would be no repeat of