DA to Chase After Red Onion Hoarders, Says No Onion Supply Shortage

The Department of Agriculture (DA) said that it finds the price of onions, which remains high, to be highly suspicious, and suspects that a syndicate is behind the stalling price of the commodity.

This comes as DA deputy spokesperson Rex Estoperez said on Tuesday in a public briefing that while red onion prices decreased during the harvest season, they suspect that a syndicate is hoarding the red onion supply enough for prices to surge.

Estoperez said that the DA is encouraging hoarders to release their kept supplies, to no avail. He reported, however, that there has been a drop in red onion prices in other areas, though it remains to be minimal.

“Doon sa ibang markets, may bahagya lang, pero napaka kaunti (In other markets, there’s a slight drop in prices, but it’s very minimal),” Estoperez said.

He added that there will be a need for the department to look at the situation closely and see if there is a need to do off-season harvesting.

However, Estoperez was adamant that there is enough supply of red onions in the country.

“Lagpas naman po tayo sa ating supply. ‘Yun nga lang, ang question pa rin doon–yung presyo (Our supplies are beyond what we need, the only question is regarding the price),” he said. (GFB)