Manila: The Department of Agriculture (DA) announced that it has approved the importation of red and white onions, as well as carrots, in an effort to stabilize the increasing retail prices in local markets.

According to Philippines News Agency, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. shared during an interview at the 47th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry that the country has commenced importing red and white onions. He noted that the price of red onions had recently escalated to PHP140 to PHP160, prompting the decision to allow imports to arrive earlier than the previously set target date of October 15.

Secretary Tiu Laurel expressed concern that local stocks might be deliberately withheld to drive up prices. As a response, import arrivals were scheduled to begin last week. The import volume for red onions is estimated between 3,000 to 5,000 metric tons, with the arrivals planned to cease a month before the local harvest in February. Meanwhile, white onion imports had already been underway since last month, resulting in a price reduction to PHP100 to PHP120 from a previous peak of PHP160 per kg.

In addition to onions, the DA announced the importation of carrots starting October 1. The initial import volume is limited to a few hundred tons to assess the market conditions, as carrot prices have also seen an upward trend. The DA is considering sourcing carrots from China, the Netherlands, and Cambodia.

As reported by DA-Bantay Presyo, the prevailing retail price of local carrots in Metro Manila was PHP257.58 per kg as of Wednesday.