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Agri dept suspends onion imports until May as supplies 'sufficient'

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ABS-CBN News

MANILA - The Philippines will not be importing onions until May as supplies of the vegetable remain &quot;sufficient, the Department of Agriculture said on Friday. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said the suspension may be extended up to July if supplies continue to meet local demand. Laurel said this aims to prevent further depressing onion prices due to a supply glut, due to fresh harvests and the arrival of additional supplies imported in December.&quot;Shipment delays resulted in the arrival of 99 tons of onion imported in December between January 1 and 15,&quot; the DA said.Farm gate prices of onion are already down to between P50 and P70 a kilo, and could fall further when more onions are harvested in February. <figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GHe4kR7G2QI?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>&quot;In some areas in Nueva Ecija, which accounts for 97 percent of onion production in Luzon, prices have dropped to as low as P20 a kilo. Luzon produces 65 percent of local onion supply,&quot; the DA said.In contrast, prices of onion surged to a record high of around P720 a kilo in December 2022 due to tight supply.Laurel however also noted that the import restriction may be lifted if El Niño affects supplies. “Hindi po natin alam ang mangyayari dahil may El Nino (We don’t know what would happen because of El Nino),” he added. El Niño, which is expected to peak around March or April, could spawn more pests that could undermine onion production. The DA earlier advised that several onion-growing barangays in Nuve Ecija had already been affected by the armyworm pest, but this is expected to damage around 5 percent of standing crops.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/19/24/da-providing-aid-to-onion-farmers-as-armyworms-affect-crops">DA providing aid to onion farmers as armyworms affect crops</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/14/23/abs-cbn-explainer-on-onion-woes-is-bright-leaf-best-online-story">ABS-CBN story on onion farmers&#x27; woes bags &#x27;Bright Leaf&#x27; award</a></li></ul>

The Philippines will not be importing onions until May as supplies of the vegetable remain 'sufficient, the Department of Agriculture said on Friday. 