BPI Says That Reducing Onion Losses Will Lessen Need for Importation

The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) Spokesperson, Jose Diego E. Roxas has stated that the local output of onion would almost meet the domestic demand if the Philippines had “better postharvest conditions.”

According to Roxas, the postharvest losses in onion production can be from 8% to 30% of the total harvest.

“As much as we want to reduce our postharvest losses, it is impossible to have absolutely no postharvest losses. We could reduce the losses significantly but not absolutely,”  said Roxas.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has mentioned that the Philippines lost over 100,000 metric tons (MT) of onions back in 2022 due to the lack of proper facilities for postharvest or cold storage facilities and improper handling.

Last 2022, the total volume wasted was nearly 35% of 283,172 MT of yellow and red shallots and onions that were harvested by farmers.

The DA estimates that the total onion requirement of the Philippines sits at over 21,679 MT per month or 260,148 MT.

President Marcos Jr., who sits as the current head of the DA, has proposed the creation of a program that would enhance the local onion sector.

This proposal is currently being discussed by government officials and has been named the Optimization and Resiliency In the Onion Industry Network (ORION) program,

“Down the line, we will not just focus on reducing post-harvest losses but also increasing mechanization to reduce labor costs and improve farmers’ yield through high-yielding varieties,” mentioned Roxas.

For 2023, the government has allocated over ₱240 million to create cold storage facilities for onions.

Source: Business Mirror