Metro Manila, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture (DA) will start implementing a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) on red and white onions on Monday, Dec. 1, to tame prices amid the expected demand spike for the Christmas season.
In a statement on Sunday, Nov. 30, the DA said it will set the MSRP for onions at P120 per kilogram to restore order in markets as they have “drifted far from reasonable pricing amid tight supply and opportunistic markups.”
“There may be some tightness in supply, but that’s no excuse for runaway prices. At current market levels, it already smacks of profiteering,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in the statement.
The DA has monitored red onions being sold in Metro Manila markets as high as P300/kg, which it said was nearly triple from the fair market price.
Tiu Laurel said imported onions have a landed cost of around P60/kg, leaving importers, logistics providers, and retailers room for a decent profit with the P120/kg MSRP.
Junibert De Sagun, DA’s Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service director, said retailers had a condition for the DA to deliver supply at around P90/kg, with the price cap to be implemented when new shipments arrive.
This would help onion retailers who have existing inventories bought at higher costs.
“Food Terminal Inc. has since committed to supplying imported onions at P90 per kilo on a cash-on-delivery basis,” the DA said. “Shipments are expected to arrive within two weeks, positioning the DA to implement the cap in early December.”
“Officials assured growers and traders that any ceiling on local onions will remain subject to further consultation and adjustment should farmgate prices rise sharply,” the agency said.
Fake rice import allocations
Meanwhile, Tiu Laurel warned industry players against a scam that supposedly offers rice import allocations by December.
The government has set the rice import ban until year-end.
The DA chief said he has information that solicitation forms have been circulating among rice millers, importers, and traders in Cebu to be able to import by December.
“One such sample form—styled with official-sounding language—asks the Secretary to acknowledge a list of “participating miller-importers” with supposed import volumes from previous years, and implies that signatories would be included in a ‘food security program in 2026,’” the agency said of the supposed fake scam.
The DA urged industry stakeholders to be vigilant and help in reporting any similar schemes.
