CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — Do candidates for elections resort to onion importation, as well as smuggling, to raise campaign funds?
“The prices of our locally produced onions plunge during the election years because we could no longer compete with imported onions which flood the market during such times, “ said Aquilino Lopez, provincial head of the Alyansang Magbubukid ng Gitnang Luson (AMGL) in Nueva Ecija.
He noted that onion farmers are compelled to lower the prices of onions from P5 to P10 per kilo during elections, despite the P30 per kilo peg for them to profit from their produce during the election years.
Some 100 onion farmer-leaders met recently in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija to urge the government to stop issuing onion import permits which they suspect are abused also for purposes of smuggling.
Joseph Canlas, president of the AMGL, blamed the Department of Agriculture (DA) for the flooding of onions in local markets, particularly in Nueva Ecija, noting that the department has been issuing onion importation permits “too freely.”
“Our report is that no less than 179 onion importers have been issued permits,” he said.
Canlas also cited information that an importer from Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija was able to import 50 container vans of onions last Dec. 3 and had the products stored in a warehouse.
During the conference, the participants also reported that most of the onion imports, including smuggled ones, land in the Freeport in Dingalan, Aurora.
“We have reports that some of these onions are brought to Palayan City for storage,” he added.
Canlas also said that more onion imports are expected this month and in the months to come as the tempo increases for the May national and local elections.
He said onion farmers have urged national and local candidates in the coming polls to commit themselves to halting onion importation, as they assured them that the availability of locally produced onions would not run short. This measure, they noted, would eventually stabilize the price of onion at P30 per kilo in local markets.
Canlas also urged the government not to be “too subservient” to the World Trade Organization whose liberalized trading policies he blamed for the glut of imported onions in the country.
