ONION imports will remain suspended up to July given sufficient domestic supplies and low market prices, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Monday.

"We will extend the ban on onion importation," Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said.

"[C]old storage facilities in onion producing areas are full [and] prices in the market are low, so there's no reason to import," he added.

A temporary halt on onion imports up to May was ordered in January, with the DA citing a supply glut and plunging prices. At that time, it also said that the ban could be extended up to July should domestic production remain sufficient to meet demand.

First quarter output, the Philippine Statistics Authority recently reported, was 28.58 percent higher in terms of value at P8.098 billion.

Earlier this month, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said a 40-percent increase in the land area planted to onions had contributed.

Good weather was also a factor, he noted, with the only dampener to production being an armyworm infestation.

In March, the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. warned that the country might have to import onions as the armyworm infestation had been exacerbated by the El Niño weather pattern.

Tiu Laurel, however, said that local prices remained reasonable, with red onions selling between P60 and P70 per kilo and the white variety at P60 per kilo.

The situation is markedly different than in late 2022, when a supply shortage saw onion prices surge to over P700 per kilo.

"If prices spike, it likely means there is a supply shortage or an unscrupulous trader," Tiu Laurel said.

"In that case, we will activate our importation if necessary, but only if necessary."

He said the DA was constantly monitoring prices of all agricultural commodities nationwide and was also working to ensure that supplies remained sufficient to prevent price spikes.

Agriculture, Tiu Laurel noted, remains an important part of the Philippine economy, accounting for one in every four jobs and is a major contributor to the consumer price basket that determines the inflation rate.

"We need to ensure that future generations can rely on this sector by making agriculture sustainable through the promotion of environmental stewardship, enhancement of biodiversity, and mitigation of climate change impacts," he said.

WITH A REPORT FROM PNA

Read The Rest at :