We might be able to enjoy our favorite dishes that have onions again soon if the prediction of this lawmaker comes true.
According to the report by ABS-CBN, Representative Joey Salceda said in an interview during the ANC’s show Headstart that the prices of onions will drop to P50 per kilo when the scheduled imported onions arrive on January 27.
Salceda said, “Yung 600 [pesos per kilo] na ‘yan… it will fall to 50 pesos, it’s natural price. Everything will normalize. You can cut all my 5 fingers if it doesn’t go back 50 pesos,” in the report.
This is despite criticism that the timing of the onion importation is wrong. This may be because this influx of onions is ahead of the harvest schedule of local farmers which may affect their harvest’s market value. The report also said that the importation of onions is late and should have happened last year to curb the increasing prices of onions, according to Rosendo So, president of the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura.
The current price of local red onions in palengkes according to the Department of Agriculture’s Bantay Presyo daily monitoring reports currently ranges red onions to be priced from P300 to P450 per kilo. This is lower than previous onion price reports but is still quite high for many households for an onion.
Salceda is the chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means.
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