THE national government has set a suggested retail price (SRP) for red onions at P125 per kilo, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
DA Undersecretary Kristine Evagelista told reporters on Monday that the SRP for onions has already been approved. Evangelista said the SRP only covers red onions.
Evangelista said the department will coordinate with market masters and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to disseminate information on the SRP. The SRP may take effect starting Wednesday in the National Capital Region (NCR).
“[This] is our way of guiding them also to be able to negotiate with their suppliers, and at the same time we have identified some suppliers who are willing to sell wholesale para sa ating mga retailers para sila ay makasunod sa SRP,” Evangelista said.
Evangelista said the computation of the SRP was based on the cost of importers as well as wholesalers.
She explained that the landed cost of imported onions reached P77 per kilo while wholesalers in places like Divisoria averaged P94 to P110 per kilo.
“In-average na lang po natin ‘yan, kinompute po natin ang gastos ng ating retailers, yung pwesto, bayad sa tindera [We just took the average. We computed the retailer’s cost, for the stalls, the seller’s wage]. So with that, we came up with a price of 125 at ito naman po ay sinang ayunan ng ating mga retailers [and the retailers agreed with this],” she said.
Last year, the DA informed lawmakers that the Philippines is projected to suffer this year a shortage of key ingredients in making Filipino dishes, such as white onion and garlic, as total supplies, even with imports, are insufficient to meet overall demand for the commodities.
DA presented its outlook on the country’s onion and garlic supply and demand situation for this year. This showed the Philippines would suffer a 16-day shortage of garlic by the end of the year as total supply, including imports, is projected to have a shortfall of about 63,850 metric tons (MT).
The DA projected that total supply of garlic this year would be at nearly 83,000 MT, compared to the total estimated demand of at least 146,850 MT.
The country’s garlic self-sufficiency ratio (SSR) in 2020 plunged to a record low of 7.1 percent. The SSR refers to the amount of total demand of a commodity that is supplied by local production.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza