The price of onions in markets is expected to drop once the more than 21,000 metric tons of imports arrive in the country before January ends, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.

DA deputy spokesperson Assistant Secretary Rex Estoperez said they are expecting the price of onion to go as low as P150 to P200 per kilo.

During the holiday season, the price of onions in some markets went as high as P720 per kilo.

The agriculture department has recently approved the importation of 21,060 metric tons (MT) of onions to lower the skyrocketing price of onions and address the supply gap in the country. The government will import 17,100 metric tons of red onions, and 3,960 metric tons of yellow onions.

According to Estoperez, the DA has calibrated the time and volume of the importation to ensure that the imported onions will not overlap with the local harvest of onion growers.

It is worth noting that the agriculture department reduced the volume of onions that the country was supposed to import. It was earlier eyed to import around 22,000 MT of onions.

He said that the arrival of the 21,060 MT imported onions must “not to exceed the first week of February.”

This is because the peak of harvest for local onion growers in the country is in mid-February, explained Estoperez.

Prior to the approval of onion importation, the DA admitted that the price of onion in the country has gotten out of control.

Estoperez even said that the importation of onion is the “only solution” to lower its skyrocketing prices in markets should prices continue to go up.