MANILA (Commodity Online) : Philippines has decided to revive its onion exports to Japan and Singapore in the medium term and to the US in the long term.

Accorduing to National Onion Growers Cooperative Marketing Association, it was planning to revitalize existing nurseries to increase yearly output so its members can resume exports.

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“We have studied and continued monitoring both the domestic and regional dynamics in onion production. We are seriously considering bringing our onions to markets abroad where we have previous trade ties," it said in a statement.

Philippines produces an average of 100,000 metric tons on onions worth P5 billion.

The group plans to double production so the country doesn’t have to import as much as 10,000 MT of onions a month.

Some members of the cooperative were recently sent to Japan, Taiwan, and the US to learn globally competitive techniques on onion production.

Aside from producing red creole and yellow granex, members of the cooperative have also learned to intercrop.

Onion, a seasonal crop, is intercropped with rice and corn. The cooperative’s members have also diversified into pepper, cucumber, shallots and indigenous vegetables.

Onion exports to Japan have increased in the last 25 years, reaching as much as 2,000 tons, before it was stopped due to stiff competition from China.

The government has provided a financial grant to help set up new nurseries and improve marketing and branding. The onion cooperative is one of the oldest in the country.

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