Central Luzon, the top producer of onion in the country, is expected to more than double its output of the crop this year, according to an official of the Department of Agriculture (DA).
DA Region 3 Officer in Charge-Director Roy M. Abaya said Central Luzon has recovered from the devastation caused by the armyworm infestation last year. This allowed harvestable area to expand to 11,000 hectares this year.
“Production this cropping season is much better, much bigger compared to last year. Last year’s output was greatly slashed by armyworm infestation, which affected 5,000 hectares,” Abaya told the BusinessMirror.
“So, now only less than 500 hectares planted with onion are affected by armyworms. The DA expects harvestable area to reach 11,000 hectares, with yield averaging 12 to 14 metric tons (MT) per hectare,” he added.
Based on the BusinessMirror’s computation, onion in Central Luzon could reach 132,000 MT this year, higher than the 59,817 MT recorded last year.
Last year the BusinessMirror reported that onion farms in Nueva Ecija contracted to 9,000 hectares, from 13,000 hectares in 2015, due to strong typhoons.
Onion planting in Central Luzon starts in September and ends in December. Harvest starts as early as December and ends in April of the succeeding year.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the country’s onion production in the first half of 2016 reached 87,266 MT. More than half, or 68.54 percent, of the total output came from Central Luzon.
Central Luzon’s onion output in the first half of 2016 reached 59,817 MT, 53.02 percent lower than the 112,827 MT recorded in the same period in 2015.
In the first and second quarters of 2016, Central Luzon produced 34,488 MT and 12,677 MT, respectively. The region’s output last year was nowhere near its 2015 production of 83,688 MT in the first quarter and 29,139 in the second quarter.
The PSA attributed this to damages caused by strong typhoons and armyworm infestation during the 2015 and 2016 planting season.
The Philippines produced a total of 122,600 MT of onions last year, 32.34 percent lower than the 181,210 MT recorded in 2015. Central Luzon usually accounts for half of the country’s onion production.
Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI)National Plant Quarantine Services Division Assistant Chief Joselito Antioquia said the agency is still assessing the volume of local harvest to determine if there is a need to import onion.
“There has been no importation of onions so far this year. There’s a huge harvest of red onions this cropping season,” Antioquia told the BusinessMirror.
BPI-South Harbor Station 4 OIC Ardy Cusio said there’s no immediate need yet for importation, as the country’s current red-onion supply is sufficient to meet local demand.
“For now, we have sufficient supply of red local onion in the market, as well as in cold storages in different regions. Harvesting is still ongoing in onion-producing areas, like Nueva Ecija, Panga-sinan and Mindoro,” Cushio, who is also the BPI’s focal person on onion, told the BusinessMirror.
The DA allows the private sector to import onions whenever there is a shortfall in local production.
Last year the BPI, an attached agency of the DA, allowed the importation of as much as 16,5000 MT of white onions. As of December 2 government data showed that private traders brought into the country 28,442.75 MT of yellow onions and 23,951.80 MT of red onions.
Image credits: Leonardo Perante II