Philippines: SINAG fears onions' farmgate price might drop due to smuggling

The farmgate price of red onions is feared to drop to as low as P10 to P15 if smuggling isn't checked, the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura said on Friday. "'Yung presyo kasi ngayon ng farmgate nasa P26 to P28 'yung pula, 'yung puti nasa P23 to P25," SINAG chairman Rosendo So said. "'Yung mga smuggled na nabebenta pa sa online and itong pumapasok na smuggled na sibuyas dapat na bantayan. Talagang natatakot tayo baka bumagsak ng P10 to P15 'yang farmgate," he added. (The farmgate price of red onions is now at P26 to P28, white onions are at P23 to P25. Smuggled onions that are even sold online and the smuggled onions coming need to be watched. We fear that the farmgate price might go down to P10 to P15.) The daily price monitoring of the Department of Agriculture showed red onions selling at a low of P90 per kilo while white onions are selling for as low as P60 per kilo. However, red onion prices are being sold at the Kadiwa market in Quezon City at P50 pesos per kilo while white ...