Press Release

13 March 2023

As farmgate prices of onion plummet, House Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto believes government officials can find funds for the building of cold storages with the same creativity that that they are raising capital for the Maharlika Fund.

“If they boast they can raise hundreds of billions for a sovereign fund, then I am sure they can do that for cold storage facilities that cost P40 million a piece,” Recto said.

The Batangas lawmaker was referring to the cost of one 20,000-bag cold storage facility that the Department of Agriculture will be putting up in in six onion producing areas this year. 

“Ang sa akin lang, equality in prioritization. Kung kaya daw i-raise ang ilang bilyon para sa isang investment fund, siguro naman mas madaling pondohan ang isang bagay na mas mababa ang halaga,” he said.

“If the idea of a sovereign fund gets an official warm embrace, then why should cold storages get a cold reception?” Recto said.

By prolonging food shelf life, Recto explained that a cold chain system, not just for onions but for plant and meat products, “will smash the cartelization of trade in some sectors because those who control the refrigerators control the market.” 

But for cold storages to help farmers, more should be built in “frontline areas,” away from the Metro Manila and other big cities which, by one estimate, house 80 percent of national cold storage capacity.

The latter stands at 500,000 tons for all food products, bulk of which are the 151 DA-accredited privately-owned refrigerated warehouses in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog regions. 

“Kulang talaga. Yung 230,000 tons natin na local onion production, in theory, would already occupy half of our cold storage parking space. May gulay, karne at iba pa. Dagdag pa vaccines and drugs,” he said.

Cold storages, Recto emphasized, “should be the government’s counterpart to farmer industry.” 

“Yung postharvest losses natin umaabot ng 15 percent sa ilang produkto. Kaya ang makatarungang hiling ng mga magsasaka, ‘Pwede ba itong pinagpaguran namin gawan nyo ng paraan na huwag kaagad mabulok,’” he said. 

Recto said conserving farm produce raises farmers’ incomes, stabilizes supply, lower retail prices, and shields the public from market manipulators.

“It negates the need for imports. Sabi nga ‘yung taunang postharvest losses sa bigas na lang, kung kayang i-save ay pwede na pakainin ang buong Metro Manila,” Recto said.

“So we are in this situation wherein the scarcity of cold storage has made the latter a hoarding device,” he said.

Recto said the government should “bring out of the freezer” the National Cold Chain Industry Roadmap, “and make the recommendations there appear in the national budget, in GOCC policies.” 

Worried that the current farmgate price of P47 per kilo will further drop to as low as P10 per kilo, onion growers have appealed over the weekend to President Marcos to save them from a losing season.