PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said government is looking for ways to sell smuggled red onions to the public, as their price soared to P700 in some public markets in Metro Manila.
In an interview with Press Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil, Marcos said government “will stick firmly to the recommended price” of red onions.
This is why smuggled onions must be sold in public markets to pull down their price, but he said doing this is not easy, given legal issues.
“The DTI will continue to monitor. We’re trying to find ways to bring the smuggled onions that have been caught na ilagay na sa market para mabawasan ang supply problem,” said Marcos.
“But there are some legal issues to doing that immediately. So we’re still working on that. But we will keep the prices down by monitoring what’s happening in our palengke,” he added.
The previous suggested retail price (SRP) of local onions was at P170 per kilogram, but the Department of Agriculture, the agency Marcos currently leads, implemented an SRP of P250 beginning Friday, Dec. 30.
But, as of Friday, no red onions were sold at P250 per kilo in Metro Manila markets.
“Kinausap natin ang market masters dahil nga wala pong makasunod sa P250 peso per kilo today dahil ‘yong stocks po nila binili sa mas mataas na halaga but we are linking para po ang ating farmer cooperatives can also supply,” explained DA Assistant Secretary Kristine Evangelista.
“Ina-identify po ngayon ng mga market masters kung anong mga retailers ang willing to buy. One part is getting the supply. The next part is having a retailer say yes. Ang mga retailer minsan may mga utang sa kanilang supplier kaya hindi po ganoon kadali sa kanila mag-shift ng supplier,” she added.
Earlier this month, Marcos said government is looking for ways to handle smuggled onions.
The DA has confiscated thousands of kilograms of both red and yellow onions as the agency looks into the reason why their prices remain high. Agriculture officials are considering selling the confiscated onions to Kadiwa stores once these are confirmed safe for consumption. Some onions though have been found with chemical residue and E. coli.
The DA maintained that the country has enough onion supply and is not yet considering importation to increase the supply, its spokesperson had said. (ABS-CBN News)
