The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday, Aug. 29, confirmed the approval of importation of white onion to “ensure stable market prices and supply.”
In a statement, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the import volume of white onion will be limited to 16,000 metric tons and its arrival will be spread over for the last four months of the year.
He said the first batch of the imported onions should start arriving within the next few days.
“We will do this by batches, in limited quantity so as not to affect existing stocks of red onions as well. We will issue permits every two weeks,” Laurel stated.
He pointed out that the additional supply of white or yellow onion should arrive before the end of the year to prevent the importation from impacting local onion farmers’ output early next year.
The DA chief explained that unlike red onion, that is abundantly produced in the country, local production of white or yellow onion is limited.
Laurel said the current supply of red onion is enough to last until March next year.