Batangas 6th district Rep. Ralph Recto made a strong pitch Monday, March 13 for government to prioritize the construction of additional cold storage facilities that farmers could use to prolong the shelf life of their produce.

For context, Recto, a deputy speaker, cited the government's willingness to set aside supposed billions of pesos to jumpstart the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF).

At the same time, the Batangueño noted that the cost of putting up a cold storage facility is peanuts in comparison.

"If gov't can raise Maharlika billions, why not funds for onion cold storages?...If they boast they can raise hundreds of billions for a sovereign fund, then I am sure they can do that for cold storage facilities that cost P40 million apiece,” Recto said in a statement.

Recto gave these remarks amid worries that the current onion farmgate price of P47 per kilo could further drop to as low as P10 per kilo.

He believes government officials can find funds for the building of cold storages with the same creativity that that they are raising capital for the Maharlika Fund.

The former Senate President pro tempore was referring to the cost of one 20,000-bag cold storage facility that the Department of Agriculture (DA) will be putting up in in six onion producing areas this year.

“If the idea of a sovereign fund gets an official warm embrace, then why should cold storages get a cold reception?” Recto asked.

He noted that a large enough cold chain system "will smash the cartelization of trade in some sectors because those who control the refrigerators control the market".

But for cold storages to help farmers, more should be built in “frontline areas,” away from the Metro Manila and other big cities which, by one estimate, house 80 percent of national cold storage capacity.

The latter stands at 500,000 tons for all food products, bulk of which are the 151 DA-accredited privately-owned refrigerated warehouses in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog regions.

“Kulang talaga (There's really a shortage). Yung 230,000 tons natin na local onion production, in theory, would already occupy half of our cold storage parking space. May gulay, karne at iba pa. Dagdag pa vaccines and drugs (There are also vegetables, meat and others to account for. Don't forget vaccines and drugs),” he said.

“So we are in this situation wherein the scarcity of cold storage has made the latter a hoarding device,” noted the House leader.