Philippines: P3.5-million worth of yellow onions seized at Port of Manila

The Bureau of Plant Industry and the Bureau of Customs have seized a 40-foot container carrying 25,000 kilograms of fresh yellow onions from China at the Port of Manila South Harbor. According to a statement on Tuesday, the shipment, worth over P3.5-million, arrived in July and was subjected to a Warrant of Seizure and Detention. “It’s impossible that this shipment of onions were imported using an SPIC because we only issued sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances in late August,” said BPI director Gerard Glen Panganiban. “We remain steadfast in our support to the newly signed Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act. We hope that these confiscations will serve as a warning to unscrupulous traders and companies that the DA and BPI are fully committed to cracking down on these illegal trade practices that endanger not only public health but undermine the livelihood of our farmers,” he added. President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., in July 2023, ordered the National Bureau of ...