With Philippines’ inflation skyrocketing to a 14-year high, onion prices in the south east Asian country have reached a whopping Rs 1000 per kilogram. In fact, the country's government is investigating a potential price manipulation in onions.
The Philippines’ agriculture department is planning to import 22,000 tonnes of onions to boost domestic supply amid the surging prices of the vegetable, possibly making it the most expensive in the world.
Onion is a key ingredient in Filipino cuisine with most households using it along with garlic. The price spike has hit consumers particularly hard during the year-end holidays with food taking centerstage in many gatherings, prompting more than a few to air their rants on social media.
A drop in local output helped lift onion prices, Estoperez said. Onions contributed 0.3 percentage points to the Philippines’ overall inflation, the same as rice, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said in a briefing last week.