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Six companies have been fined 17.6 billion pesos ($27.9 million or Tk 3.43 billion) for allegedly conspiring to drive up onion prices in the Philippines, authorities said on Wednesday (October 14), local time.
The companies had formed a “syndicate” that caused onion prices to soar, according to the authorities.
In 2022, onion prices in the Philippines surged to a record 800 pesos per kilogram, surpassing the country’s daily minimum wage and the price of meat.
The crisis put significant pressure on then-newly elected President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who had pledged to bring down rising food prices.
The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) said on Wednesday that the fines imposed on onion importers, storage operators and transport companies were the largest since the commission was established in 2016.
From late 2022 to early 2023, onions disappeared from restaurant menus for several months and became a smuggled commodity.
Onions even became a status symbol at one point. At a wedding, a bride was seen carrying a bouquet of onions instead of flowers.
Authorities approved emergency onion imports. President Marcos vowed to take tough action against those responsible for the crisis. “Because of their actions, Filipinos are dying of hunger and poverty,” he said.
The crisis eased later in 2023 when a bumper domestic onion harvest reached the market, helping stabilise prices.
A parliamentary committee tasked with investigating the price crisis found that a syndicate was behind the “artificial” surge in onion prices. Source: BBC.
