Jun Torres

Lift onion import control, GMA urged

Traders in Divisoria yesterday (May 11) appealed to President Macapagal Arroyo to lift the graft-ridden import control on onions to give temporary relief to millions of housewives reeling from skyrocketing prices of food, fuel and electricity.

The temporary lifting of the government restrictions –similar to the recently liberalized importation of rice—would avert the looming price crisis and effectively combat the artificial supply shortage created by unscrupulous Nueva Ecija-based groups masquerading as farmer-growers, according to the Philippine Vegetable Importers/Growers, Inc.

The group’s president, Ms. Lilibeth B. Valenzuela, said they will formally seek the help of the Chief Executive to stop the anti-business policy of the Department of Agriculture. She said the continued refusal of Secretary Arthur Yap to issue their requested import permits despite “the admission of the Bureau of Plant Industry in the already rise of onion prices” unduly favored a group of unscrupulous traders masquerading as growers, who buy onions from farmers for as low as P10 per kilo then resell them as huge profits. These price manipulators hoard onions to create artificial supply shortages in order to jack up prices of the commodity.

Because of Yap’s inaction on their repeated requests, the Divisoria vegetables traders were forced to import fresh onions even without the required clearance from the Agriculture department just to fill the orders made by several fast food chains and luxury hotels.

These big volume buyers have brought their complaints to the Office of the President, blaming Yap for the artificial escalation of onion prices which reached P130 per kilo and still rising. Because of this, Mrs. Arroyo ordered Yap to immediately act to avert another price crisis from getting out of hand –just like the worsening price crisis also created by unscrupulous price speculators with the help of incompetent Agriculture department officials.

Valenzuela’s group blames Yap’s anti-business policy for the current artificial but temporary onion price crisis. She said Yap must share the blame for the present price crisis because some traders, who were already ‘sick and tired’ of Yap’s alleged incompetence, had imported the commodity despite the lack of import permits, perhaps to fill the orders of their valued customers.

Recently, the Customs bureau impounded several shipments of onions due to lack of government permit. In order to retrieve their onion shipments from Customs custody, the importers just paid the required Customs fines and surcharges then passed on the additional costs to the poor consumers.

It’s a vicious cycle, said Ms. Valenzuela, adding “over-regulation is just one of the main reasons for the sudden rise in the prices of fresh onions, rice and other basic commodities.