Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan has called on the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to bolster their anti-smuggling efforts ahead of the harvest season.

In addition, he urged the agencies to closely monitor the supply and demand of agricultural products and refrain from issuing import permits during the harvest season.

Smuggled produce, onions in particular, will affect the prices of locally-grown crops, he said. The surplus in supply lowers the prices of Filipino farmers’ goods, resulting in losses.

This annual problem is exacerbated by the possible practice of hoarding to manipulate onion prices in the markets.

With the harvest season approaching, the government must ensure that farmers are protected against unfair competition in the form of imported and smuggled onions, Pangilinan said.

The smuggling of agricultural goods, he said, has not ceased, the DA’s records indicate. In May this year, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. led the inspection of two container vans carrying 34 metric tons of smuggled white onions from China, valued at ₱4.1 million.

Upon assessment of the onions, the Bureau of Plant Industry - Products Safety Services Division (BPI-PPSSD) and the National Plant Quarantine Services Division (NPQSD) reported that these were positive for heavy metals and Salmonella.

In June, the DA and BOC seized 25 metric tons of smuggled red onions from China at the Mindanao International Container Terminal in Misamis Oriental.