The Department of Agriculture (DA) is temporarily suspending the importation of bulb onions pending the results of an investigation by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) into the reported operations of a cartel manipulating the buying price of locally produced onion.
The suspension would prevent the cartel from forcing the buying price of local onions to drop, which it does by leasing cold storage facilities and closing them off from onion farmers, DA secretary Emmanuel Piñol said in a social media post.
The DA on March 20 had asked PCC and NBI to investigate reports that trading firms have closed down four major cold storage facilities in an apparent attempt to force farmers to sell at low prices.
“The traders are expected to consolidate the local production as they await for the time when they will be allowed to import. With the farmers’ produce bought at very low prices cornered and consolidated, traders could control the pricing of onion in the market and generate huge profits,” Piñol said.
He added that farmers’ groups and importers have come to an agreement that the importation of onions would only be done after the harvest of local onions.
The DA has also directed attached agency Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) to support this arrangement by scheduling the processing of sanitary and phytosanitary permits until after the harvest season.
The BPI has reported that no SPS permits have been issued since October.
The moratorium on the issuance of SPS permits will be extended until after the PCC and NBI finish their investigation, Piñol noted. Aside from BPI, all agencies under the DA are notified to implement the temporary suspension of onion importation.
