WHITE, RED ONION PRICES
TO GO DOWN BY P50/KILO
By Manny Piñol
Prices of imported Red and White Onion are expected to drop drastically by about P50 per kilo in two weeks time after the Department of Agriculture requested the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Customs to lift the Special Safeguard Duties imposed on these two commodities.
In a dialogue held at the Office of the Secretary of the DA today, White and Red Onion traders and importers pledged that in two weeks time, White Onion which is now sold at P120 per kilo will be sold in retail stores at P55 per kilo.
Red Onion, on the other hand, now sold at P100 per kilo will be sold at P65 in the retail outlets, the traders and importers promised.
The decision to scrap the SSG duties was made following a spike in the prices of Onion and other imported food items in the markets in Metro Manila.
The SSG is an additional duty imposed on imported agricultural products which could compete with local production.
A trigger price of P74.21 per kilo is set so that when the landed cost of imported Onions is at P33 per kilo, an additional duty of P51.21.
This, however, results in higher retail prices in the market.
The decision to lift the SSG was also prompted by the absence of locally produced Onions whose harvest starts January to April every year.
The traders and importers pledged to police their ranks and their retail outlets so that the prices of Onion would go down in time for the Christmas Season.
The lifting of the SSG is one of the measures undertaken by the DA to address the rising prices of food items in the market.
The letter addressed to BOC Commissioner Isidro Lapeña requesting for the lifting of the SSG was signed in the presence of traders and importers who attended today’s dialogue.
(Photos of the dialogue today were taken by Alan Jay Jacalan, DA-AFID)
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