Precious cargo: A worker pulling a cart carrying sacks of onions at a public market in Manila. — Reuters
Putting quality over profit during inflationary times, Manila restaurant manager Ely Cundangan has refused to mess with her signature beef marrow stew – the same amount of onions must go in the pot no matter what.
“Our ingredients have become so expensive that we are earning almost nothing. But we can’t change the recipe,” said the 76-year-old, while taking a break from cooking to man the cash register.
“Our customers will surely notice, and we want to keep our customers happy.”
Elected in June 2022, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has struggled to fulfil campaign promises to bring down inflation, which hit 8.7% in January, driven by an 11.2% jump in food prices, the biggest since 2009.
Like the rest of the world, the Philippines is paying a lot more for energy imports, but it is the soaring prices of staple foodstuff that has become hardest to stomach.
The cost of onions – a mainstay in almost all Philippine dishes – shot up from about 70 pesos (RM1.27) a kilogramme in April 2022 to as much as 700 pesos (RM12.70) last December, making them more expensive than meat.
Awkwardly for Marcos, who also holds the agriculture portfolio, the onion shortages stemmed largely from import delays.
Imported onions, bought mostly from India and China, require sanitary and phytosanitary permits for quarantine and biosecurity purposes.
Acknowledging that part of the fault lay with poor planning, Marcos has acted to speed up imports and prices have tumbled from last December’s highs, but rates in a Manila wet market are still around double the year-ago levels.
Consumer frustration is limited for now to social media memes, with some finding humour the best way to deal with hardship.
It is not just onions that cost more.
Steep price rises for eggs and sugar have also whacked up the cost of putting food on the table.
Opposition politicians have criticised Marcos for not acting sooner to control spiralling prices, saying he should relinquish the agriculture portfolio and appoint a minister who can dedicate himself to the task.
And farmers are worried that the belated surge in imports will end up weakening prices just as they take their own onions to market during the February to April harvest season.
“We are nervous. We will get nothing from what we have worked hard for,” said 41-year-old Jon-Jon Taberna, an onion farmer from Nueva Ecija province.
“No matter how good the crop is, if prices are depressed, you won’t make money.” — Reuters
