00:00The Philippine Competition Commission of PCC filed a case against the 12 importers and traders who have the same owner in the cartel
00:09whose price went up because of the price of onions. Here is the story.
00:15The Philippine Competition Commission conducted an administrative search in a business in September 2023.
00:22The cartel owned by onions was discovered, including the 12 importers and traders.
00:29The sensitive information of the businessmen changed to control and manipulate the supply and price of onions.
00:37These entities that are involved are really talking to each other.
00:42We saw it in the emails, in the exchange of communication, who are their suppliers, when will the shipment arrive,
00:50how many SPSICs will they apply, when will the imports go in, and what is the volume.
00:59The cartel started operating in 2019 and lasted until 2023.
01:05It is said that this is related to the onion crisis of 2022, when the price of onions went up to more than P700.
01:14They contributed because all cartels, when they are there, the effect is that the price goes up or the volume that goes around the market goes down.
01:25So that is the real harm that the cartel is causing.
01:28The Philippine Competition Act filed a case of violation in Section 14 of the 12 importers and traders.
01:37They were fined more than P2 billion.
01:41The Department of Agriculture said that even if the registration of some importers and traders does not go in,
01:47they are already under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Plant Industry,
01:50the agency that provides allocations for the importation of agricultural products.
01:55If they are doing an unfair trade previously, we can avoid the collusion.
02:03If there is a collusion, the problem is that even if there is an importation, the price will not go down.
02:10According to the order of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.,
02:15the DA assured that the cartel, hoarding and smuggling will be strictly monitored
02:20so that the supply and stable price of agricultural products will be sufficient.
02:26Kelly Zalparilla for Pambansang TV in Bagong, Philippines.
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