[Central News Agency] The market price of onion in the Philippines keeps rising, once rising to 800 pesos per kilogram, which is higher than the daily basic wage and the selling price of chicken and pork.

This "onion crisis" has brought many strange phenomena, and airline crews were investigated for bringing onions into the country.

The market price of Philippine chicken is about 180 to 220 pesos per kilogram, and pork is about 300 to 330 pesos per kilogram.

Onions cost 800 pesos per kilogram, about NT$442.

Please read on...

The daily basic salary regulations are different in different regions of the Philippines.

The prevailing agricultural base wage in Metro Manila is P533 and non-agricultural base wage is P570.

As the market price of onions soared, Manila Times columnist Marit Stinus-Cabugon wrote that in the Philippines, "nutritious red onions are only for the rich."

Cabugon said red onions have gone up to ridiculous prices in the Philippines.

She lives in Cebu City in central Philippines. The largest public market in the area has sold red onions for 750 to 800 pesos per kilogram in recent weeks. In mid-December last year, the price was only 380 pesos per kilogram.

"Of course, our family has stopped buying red onions until the price is right," she wrote.

The Philippine Department of Agriculture made a decision on the 10th to import another 17,100 metric tons of fresh red onions and 3,960 metric tons of fresh yellow onions to stabilize market prices.

In response to criticism that the move would endanger farmers' livelihoods, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. defended the policy on the 15th, saying: "Considering our production and demand in the Philippines, it is impossible not to import. We have no choice but to Import, that's what we're doing."

Western media also noticed the "onion phenomenon" in the Philippines.

Time magazine (Time) published an article on the 9th to explain why in the Philippines, onions are now more expensive than meat; CNN reported on the 10th that because Philippine onions are so expensive that some people smuggle them to the Philippines.

In fact, this onion crisis not only led to frequent smuggling, but also farmers committed suicide.

CNN Philippines reported that Elvin Jerome Laceda, chairman of the Philippine Young Farmers Challenge (YFCI), said at a Senate hearing yesterday that five Filipino farmers had been damaged by natural disasters and bought The price is not enough to cover the huge loss of the cost and commit suicide.

Romel Calingasan, an agricultural officer in San Jose township in Occidental Mindoro province, said that although the market price of onions per kilogram in Metro Manila was more than P700, middlemen paid local farmers last year. The purchase price is only 8 to 15 pesos per kilogram.

On the other hand, it was reported on the 15th that 10 crew members of Philippine Airlines were under investigation by Philippine Airlines because they brought 40 kilograms of onions and fruits into the Philippines but did not declare them.

Bureau of Customs (BOC) spokesman Arnold dela Torre Jr. said in a radio interview that the bureau is considering pursuing legal action against the crew members.

Even though Marcus Jr. is concurrently serving as the Minister of Agriculture, he has shown his determination to accelerate agricultural development to achieve food self-sufficiency, but the prices of some agricultural products in the Philippines continue to soar, and they must rely on imports to stabilize market prices.

Marcos Jr. had put forward his political views during the election campaign, and would lower the price of rice from 38 to 50 pesos per kilogram to 20 to 30 pesos.

However, the National Federation of Farming Women (Amihan) and the Guardian Rice (Bantay Bigas) organization stated on the 15th that the import of Philippine rice hit a new high last year, but now the cheapest rice in Metro Manila is 44 pesos per kilogram, while other areas are 55 pesos, "the rice at 20 pesos per kilogram is still unavailable".

On the 16th, farmer groups such as the Philippine Peasant Movement (KMP) and the National Farmers’ Women’s Union went to the Ministry of Agriculture to express their appeals, asking the Manila authorities to increase the production of their own agricultural products to solve the problem of skyrocketing food prices, and at the same time stop importing agricultural products to avoid endangering farmers’ livelihoods.

Grasp the pulse of the economy with one hand I subscribe to Free Finance Youtube channel

Already added friends, thank you

Welcome to 【Free Finance】

feel good

Already liked it, thank you.

related news