white / yellow onions

1kg of red onion in manila cost 400 pesos...

@FindlayMacD

YES, same situation in Cavite.......I miss my white onions terribly.......

miss large red tomatoes also....

With it's shoreline and high mountains the Philippines has varying climates and with it varying crops suited to a particular area and it's climate. Onions grow best in temperate climates without extremes of heat or cold. I have a house in Baguio which is high up in the mountains and there it is friendly to European type crops including onions and is an exporter to other parts of the Philippines.

And Baguio also has tomatoes which I like to include in my European salads.

In Batangas now - P600/Kg

@FindlayMacD You are absolutely correct!  No white or yellow onions for months now.  I have inquired but no one seems to have an answer.  WTF!  Is it a onion plague?  I really don't pay much attention to price..if I want an onion I get an onion..etc.., but they aren't available anywhere that I know.  Good luck!   Oh, I live in Cebu, by the way.

attykroll said. . . . miss large red tomatoes also..

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I spent hundreds of dollars trying to grow tomatoes & onions available everyday in the states.

(1) Grow Tents

(2) Grow Lights

(3) Fabric Grow Bags

(4) 20 Bags of Loam Soil

(5) Imported Miracle Grow Tomato Food from the states.

(6) Imported Tomato Seeds from the states.

(7) Imported Onion Seeds from the states.

(8) FedEx Shipping Fees

(9) Business License & Fees from the Barangay

(10) License and Fees from the Philippine Dept of Plants.

Mary Mary (Bob Bob) quite contrary how does your garden grow?

It didn't complete failure

@FindlayMacD Same in Cebu area so I have adjusted. I buy Green (Spring) Onions and just use the white bottoms. About 4 large bunches (total 100 pesos) will give you enough bottoms to equal a medium yellow/white onion. a tad spicier, but I like my food that way. After a short time, you will have so many green tops, you will be giving or throwing them away.

Also, I am buying Dehydrated Badia (brand) Onion Flakes in large 14 ounce plastic bottle - about 350 pesos per bottle. Soak them in water before sauteeing or using. I don't taste any difference.

I also don't understand why Philippines is not constantly abundant in vegetables with all of the sun and rain and cheap labor.

@FindlayMacD
I also don't understand why Philippines is not constantly abundant in vegetables with all of the sun and rain and cheap labor.
-@talamban

I don't understand as well, they used to be so plentiful and cheap.

Maybe white onions only available in Landers or S&R perhaps?

Maybe white onions only available in Landers or S&R perhaps?
-@Harbred6051

Here in Cagayan De Oro we don't have a branch of Landers and no white onions in S & R for weeks now.

No white onions for weeks?!!...Ohhh the humanity!!!! 😮

@Harbred6051 Apparently officials have predicted this since August 2022. Garlic too?

*PHL to suffer white onion, garlic shortage*

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/08/3 … -shortage/

Why don't you check with some of the local restaurants, see if they can still get hold of them and if they can find out where from. If you are a regular at one of these restaurants and they can still get hold of them, maybe they will give you or sell you a few.

"Pungko-pungko customers miss the kick and taste of onions"

By: Mary Sagarino  January 04,2023

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/4831 … -of-onions

MANDAUE CITY, Philippines- Pungko-pungko (sit-sit) vendors in Zamora Street in Barangay Centro, Mandaue City are now using cucumbers instead of onions to mix with their sauce.

Stall vendors said that they have been using cucumbers for a month now as a substitute since onions have become very expensive ....

"Price of onions to drop to P170/kilo – farmers' group"

By Bella Cariaso  January 4, 2023

https://www.manilatimes.net/2023/01/04/news/price-of-onions-to-drop-to-p170kilo-farmers-group/1872601

(UPDATE) THE farmers' group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) president Rosendo So on Tuesday said that he expects the retail prices of onions to normalize at P170 per kilo beginning Jan. 15, 2023 with the start of the peak harvest season.

So also noted that the Department of Agriculture (DA) has failed to enforce the P250 suggested retail price (SRP) as the cost of the bulbs remains high.

In a radio interview, So admitted that the P250 SRP was not achieved. It was announced two days before its implementation on Dec. 30, 2022.

"We expected that [noncompliance] as it was implemented two days before. The retail price started to go down as we already monitored at least P400 per kilo. We expect that within a few days, it will further decrease," he said.

Based on the monitoring of the DA, the retail prices of the bulbs still ranged from P550 to P700 per kilo.

So said retailers have yet to sell all their old stocks before they can comply with the P250 SRP.

"We already received reports that there are now traders who deliver onions to Manila at P250 per kilo. We hope this trend will continue," he added.

So said that the peak harvest season of onions will start on January 15 and will continue until April this year.

"By then, we hope to return to P170 per kilo," he noted.

At the same time, So reiterated that the importation of onions is no longer an option as it will compete with the local production.

"If we import now, it will arrive on January 15 until January 20. It will not help in our stocks as we will have local stocks by then," he added.

So said that onions from Ilocos are cheaper since their farmgate price is only at P100 per kilo. They are sold at retail prices between P150 and P200 per kilo.

"These are the sibuyas (onion) Tagalog that are sourced from the Ilocos. Usually, these types of onions are being shipped to Mindanao as consumers prefer this type. But because of the high retail prices of red onions, Metro Manila consumers can use this as an alternative," he added.

Meanwhile, a farmers' group in Nueva Ecija divulged that the Agriculture department bought the onions at farmgate price of P537 per kilo and sold them at P170 per kilo at the Kadiwa centers. This happened as the cost of the bulbs in the local markets reached as high as P720 per kilo.

This means that the DA subsidized the onions at the Kadiwa center at P367 per kilo to be able to sell them at P170 per kilo.

In a radio interview, Bonena Multipurpose Cooperative Chairman Israel Reguyal added that traders started a bidding process, causing the farmgate prices in December to reach between P550 and P570 per kilo.

"[Agriculture Assistant Secretary Kristine] Evangelista tried to negotiate with us as she said the onions will be sold at P170 per kilo," Reguyal said.

Evangelista serves as the DA's spokesman and assistant secretary for consumer affairs.

"When the DA talked to us, the farmgate price that time was already P550 to P600. I told the DA, we will just compute the additional expenses for the transport cost going to Manila and the middleman will be eliminated, that's why we came up with the P537 [per kilo]," Reguyal added.

He attended the stakeholders' meeting organized by the department on Dec. 28, 2022 after the retail prices went up to P720 per kilo.

Reguyal said it was the traders who started the high bidding price.

"The bidding happened at the farm. The traders approached the farmers while they were harvesting. For example, a trader will offer P500 [per kilo farmgate price], but after one minute, another buyer will arrive, offering P520 to P530 per kilo. That explains why the onions were expensive," Reguyal added.

He said that Bonena Multipurpose Cooperative has at least 200 farmer members.

However, he failed to disclose the total volume of onions the DA bought from the farmers.

Reguyal admitted that it was the first time in many years where the farmgate prices of onions reached more than P500 per kilo.

"Since birth, it was the first time I experienced this high farmgate price," he said.

Reguyal explained that because it is still off-season, the production of onions is still limited.

"When we say off-season, it is not yet time to plant onions because of the typhoons. If a farmer plants, normally only 20 percent will survive because of the rains. This is also the reason why we have a high cost of production," he said.

He said farmers planted three times after the seedlings were destroyed by the typhoons.

"We started planting in August but because of typhoons like 'Paeng,' we repeated thrice and because of the rains, only 20 percent survived," he said.

Reguyal explained that a farmer usually spends between P350,000 and P400,000 for each hectare.

"So, if you repeated the process three times, you will multiply the P350,000 three times. Per kilo, our break-even is between P80 [and] P100," he said.

--

With it's shoreline and high mountains the Philippines has varying climates and with it varying crops suited to a particular area and it's climate. Onions grow best in temperate climates without extremes of heat or cold. I have a house in Baguio which is high up in the mountains and there it is friendly to European type crops including onions and is an exporter to other parts of the Philippines.
-@Ivan Cristante

I'm curious to know if Shallots ( a sweeter smaller onion) are grown there? I use them in salads and also for cooking . A very versatile member of the onion family.

Red or white onions are 4 to 450 per Kg here and we are only an hour and a half from Baguio, used to be 100 per kilo a year ago. Sad, such is life.

Cheers, Steve.

I looked on FB Marketplace and saw white onions for sale. I have never purchased anything from FB Marketplace and would be inclined to avoid anything on that medium.

Looks like it's good ole' price manipulation according to the agriculture secretary.

"Traders seen behind high prices of onions in Dec

Bella Cariaso

By Bella Cariaso

January 5, 2023 210

AGRICULTURE Assistant Secretary and spokesman Kristine Evangelista on Wednesday said traders were involved in price manipulation, causing the spike in the farmgate price of onions between P550 and P670 per kilo in December."

https://www.manilatimes.net/2023/01/05/ … ec/1872837

In Dumaguete, white onions are said to be 700p per kilo. Driving past a market up in Valencia whete we live and where the climate is good for growing onions, I saw a large bag of laege white onions so there is probably no shortage here but I suspect it is there because even the foreigners are balking at the price.

My understanding from news reports is that the DA wanted to import more onions into the country but the farmers opposed it enough to slow it down. Apparently the Philippines now has the highest prices in the world. Well, onions are not a necessity in my diet and since I now know about the greed and manipulation, I simply will not buy them until the prices return to reasonable levels. The impact on my Philippine gastronomucal experience will be minimal to none.

I wonder in how many countries that the president of the country is also the Secretary of Agriculture. This crazy prices for basic agricultural products only happen since 2022, after the new president got into office.

I wonder in how many countries that the president of the country is also the Secretary of Agriculture. This crazy prices for basic agricultural products only happen since 2022, after the new president got into office.
-@yiqipo

Well it seems to me there must be some  kind of price manipulation going on either by the farmers or by some shady politicians.

@FindlayMacD

This is really crazy:

"Philippines May Not Fill Onion Imports on Tight Conditions: USDA

BY MANOLO SERAPIO JR.

Jan. 13, 2023, 9:21 AM

The Philippines is unlikely to meet a plan to import 21,060 tons of onions due to the tight requirements, including delivery before the end of January which could favor Chinese suppliers due to proximity, the United States Department of Agriculture said.

The Southeast Asian nation plans to purchase onions to tame domestic prices that have surpassed those of meat and helped push inflation to a 14-year high. The Philippines’ agriculture department has told importers they need to bring in shipments by Jan. 27 and any late arrivals would be rejected. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is also the agriculture secretary."

I live in Bicol and none of stores in naga has white onions. Red are available. I look on Thanksgiving for white onions and could not find any. Amazing. Only in Phikippines

danfinn posted. . . . . President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is also the agriculture secretary."

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On the advice of his mother Imelda Marcos, he resigned as not to cause any improprieties. He is now head of the Treasury Department.

danfinn posted. . . . . President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is also the agriculture secretary."
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On the advice of his mother Imelda Marcos, he resigned as not to cause any improprieties. He is now head of the Treasury Department.
-@Enzyte Bob

Lol. And you forgot to mention Bob that he has keys to the Safe