Jerry Dean E.

Cuaresma Creative Writing

HUMSS-B (RCE) Expository Essay

The sky-rocketing price of Onions

Countries in Asia, especially Southeastern are a fond of onion and garlic in cooking.
Onion, as stated, can be seen in almost every dish that are served in the dinner table. It is the
most in demand vegetable and according to research, the average demand for it goes around
17,000 metric tons monthly in the Philippines alone.

The sudden hike in price of onion left many Filipinos in shock and disappointment. The
famous red onion, as well as the white one, is sold for 600 in Philippine peso per kilogram
based on the agriculture department monitoring of Manila-area market prices. That is almost an
equal to a whole meal of a family in a day and even greater than a worker’s minimum wage for a
day’s work. But what really caused the price increase?

Part of the sudden hike of price is the equivalent amount of people who consumes it. In
short, inflation. According to Dennis Mapa, National Statistician on January 5, Philippines hit the
14-year-high inflation just last December 2022. And with regards to the needs of a citizen, onion
made it to a 0.3 percentage points or 8.1% uptick in consumer prices. But it wasn’t all because
of inflation. The business sector puts the blame to the Department of Agriculture for making a
failed assumption of supply projections despite the warnings acquired last year. Farmers and
agriculture related officials stated that a possible shortage will spike during the holidays up until
August and yet the department didn’t think of possible actions.

Although the government and the agricultural authorities announced that they are opting
to import the said vegetable by March, this year, it didn’t make an impression to the locals. It is
because the other daily expenses and needs are also skyrocketing in price. On the other hand,
to address the issue, the Philippines trade department imposed a suggested retail price lower
than what the sellers sell it for. But despite of all the efforts made, it is hardly enforced, and the
price remained high.

With all the situation happening, the government, the authorities, along with the
suggestions of the president, the Philippines is and will be given a solution. Whether it may be a
temporary one or for a long-term.