By BEN BALCE,
Associate Editor
and GERRY LEE GORIT
Contributor
THE Cagayan de Oro City Price Coordinating Council (CPCC) will be convening soon to tackle the price of onions as well as the alleged anti-competitive practices and reported cartels in the onion industry.
This is after the committee on agriculture chairperson Cynthia Villar who was in the city last Thursday for the 1st 1st Regional Farmers Summit as she blamed hoarders and smugglers for the staggering prices of onions in the country that have left many local farmers bankrupt.
“If that (hoarding) is true, we need to investigate that,” said CPCC member and the head of the city council’s trade and commerce committee Councilor George Goking.
The CPCC will also look into an alleged cartel in the onion industry in the city, according to Goking.
He said the departments of agriculture and the Trade and Industry, who are both CPCC members are also reportedly receiving price increases in other commodities except onions.
“The CPCC has started seeing red flags for hoarding following the cost of onions skyrocketed during the past few months,” said Goking
According to price monitoring data from the Department of Agriculture, as of January 5, 2023, the retail price ranges of local red onion and local white onion were P280 to P650 and P400 to P600, respectively in select markets in the National Capital Region, which were significantly higher compared to the prevailing retail price of the local red onion of P220 and imported white onion of P80 on the same day last year.
“I will file a resolution seeking a Council inquiry into this alleged illegal practices by some business owner in the onion industry in the city,” said Goking.
The resolution according to Goking will instruct the City Council’s Committee on Trade and Industry to investigate the aid of legislation on the alleged existence of a cartel and anti-competitiveness practices in the onion industry.
Meanwhile, Villar during her visit explained that the escalating price of onions is caused by businessmen who buy this produce cheaply and sell it at a higher price.
“There is no scarcity of onions but unscrupulous businessmen have what pushed its price to shoot up,” Villar explained.
Villar added that the cartel has total control over its supply and is releasing 'artificial demand' to increase its price in the market.
“Traders and importers control the price of onions,” Villar said adding that they buy onions at very low prices and store them, which our farmers cannot do as they have no storage facility.
She added that based on their investigation since 2013, it has been proven that there is a cartel in the supply of onions.
“We need now new and harsher law that would punish unscrupulous traders and “economic saboteurs,” Villar said.
Policemen are now even working with government agencies to ensure the arrest of individuals who will hoard or sell commodities way beyond their supposed suggested retail price, according to Police Regional Office 10 spokesperson Police Major Joann Navarro.
“Both offenses (hoarding and selling beyond SRP) are punishable under Republic Act 7394 or the Consumer Act of the Philippines,” Navarro said.
“We the police are now in close coordination with the DTI, DA including city officials,” said Navarro.
Navarro said they will now also coordinate with concerned government agencies on the conduct of operations to avoid technical concerns as there is an existing procedure for the arrest of violators.
“We have limited knowledge on how to go about this that is why we are coordinating with concerned government agencies and we will assist them considering their limitation in the number of personnel,” said Navarro.
Navarro warned that they will enforce arrests as soon as they can verify the pieces of information that they have been getting with the help of concerned government agencies.
