00:00The imported red onion is now being sold at a price of 90 pesos per kilo in Megacumar, Quezon City.
00:07This is the story of Harley Valbuena.
00:11The country has now received 100 tons of imported onions,
00:15which is far from being able to afford the price it is now charging.
00:18According to the Department of Agriculture,
00:21this is part of the 1,000 tons of onions
00:24that were ordered by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Chu Laurel, Jr.
00:30Out of the 3,000 metric tons that were applied in a volume comprising 59 SPSIC,
00:37only 459 metric tons have arrived.
00:42Most of these were imported from China.
00:46Out of the 1,000 metric tons that were applied in a volume comprising 20 SPSIC,
00:56only 200 metric tons have arrived.
00:59In Megacumar, Quezon City,
01:02the imported red onions are now being sold at a price of 90 pesos per kilo.
01:08Here in Megacumar, the price of imported red onions is 90 pesos per kilo.
01:14This is cheaper by 30 pesos compared to the local price of 120 pesos per kilo.
01:21The budget is getting lower because the prices are getting lower.
01:27According to the DA,
01:29when the batch of imported onions arrives,
01:33it is expected to lower its price in other families as well.
01:3880 to 100 pesos, we are happy with that
01:41compared to what we are seeing now, 180 to 200 pesos.
01:46The majority of the volume will be arriving this week.
01:49Meanwhile, in accordance with Secretary Laurel's orders,
01:53the Bureau of Plant Industry has already started
01:56inspecting the cold storage facilities of onions across the country
02:01to find out if there is wrong hoarding or supply shortage.
02:05The BPI and DA confirmed that
02:08in the first instance,
02:09there was no shortage of onions in the warehouses.
02:15The cold storages are almost empty.
02:18The harvest was delayed
02:20because usually, it is in February.
02:25As of today,
02:26the red onions are only in 500 metric tons.
02:30The quantity in this country
02:34and locally is still small,
02:37only 30 metric tons.
