MANILA: Farmgate prices of onions have dropped amid the arrival of imported onions in the Philippines, an agriculture group said Friday.
Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) President Rosendo So said prices of white onions have dropped to P70-P90 per kilo from a high of P700 last December. “Yesterday, white onions were at P70-P90 a kilo. This is in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija. Red onions were at P170-P190 a kilo yesterday,” he said.
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Farmers, however, are hurting due to the low farmgate prices of the commodity, said James Ramos, administrator of the Facebook page Onion Farmers Philippines.
Ramos noted that the low prices are affecting their income.
“This would have been the only time we’ll get good prices for our products. But DA ordered an importation. For more than 30 years, this would have been the only time we would have made good money. But DA blocked that.”
He said farmers were not consulted ahead of the importation of onions.
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“We farmers weren’t consulted. They didn’t talk to us before approving the importation, he lamented.
“We are calling on the DA, if it’s possible, they should study the importation of onions properly and consult with us before approving importation. The president’s programme of not allowing imports would have been nice, but the thing about the DA is whoever sits at the top, there seems to already be a corrupt system inside,” he noted.
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Ramos also said he wishes the government would provide more help to farmers like him. “I hope they would help us by giving us seeds and fertilizer, just like what the late president’s father did, “ he added.