MANILA — The government has begun preparations to purchase onions ahead of the peak harvest season to prevent a potential collapse in farmgate prices.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. directed the state-run Food Terminals Inc. (FTI) to start buying onions this week as output increases. The move is intended to cushion farmers from the usual decline in prices during peak harvest.

A team has been deployed to Nueva Ecija to secure cold storage facilities. “They’ve secured space for 50,000 28-kilo bags, and we can expand that if needed,” Tiu Laurel said, describing the action as a preemptive measure against a possible price slump.

Apart from Nueva Ecija, the Department of Agriculture is also monitoring other onion-producing areas, including Occidental Mindoro, Pangasinan, and Cagayan Valley. Tiu Laurel said FTI is constructing cold storage facilities to prolong the shelf life of vegetables, helping stabilize supply and prices year-round.

The initiative follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to maintain fair farmgate prices and ensure farming remains profitable. According to Tiu Laurel, Malacañang’s policy focuses on price stability and sustaining farmer participation in production.

Nueva Ecija accounts for more than half of the country’s onion output, with Bongabon contributing about 15 percent of total production. The province plays a key role in national supply and is often affected when harvest volumes surge.

FTI President Joseph Lo recently inspected conditions in Nueva Ecija and reported that farmgate prices have risen to as much as P45 per kilo. He attributed the increase to the Department of Agriculture’s assurance that imported red and white onion stocks are limited and are expected to run low by the height of the harvest season.

“Our goal is to buy at prices that are fair to farmers, at levels that are enough to make onion farming profitable and sustain their planting intentions,” Lo said.

Previous harvest cycles saw large volumes of imports coincide with peak local production, resulting in sharp declines in farmgate prices. This, in turn, discouraged farmers and led to lower production in succeeding months, prompting further imports.

By purchasing onions and expanding cold storage capacity, FTI aims to manage excess supply and reduce price volatility. The strategy involves buying during periods of high output and releasing stocks when prices increase.

The 50,000 bags secured for storage are equivalent to about 1,400 metric tons. National onion consumption is estimated at approximately 550 metric tons per day.