Discount store Japan Home Centre said that their Panay branch managed to collect 3,500 onions from their one-day-only Pay With Sibuyas (onions) campaign last Feb. 4.
On Feb. 4, customers could purchase an item for an onion bulb, instead of the brand’s usual PHP88 (US$1.60) price. Customers may purchase a maximum of three items with onions.
Japan Home Centre launched the promo to collect onions for the store’s community pantry, which distributes staple goods to members of their neighborhood. Japan Home Centre’s community pantry will be set up on Feb. 8 in front of its Panay branch. Volunteers may also donate extra food items to the pantry.
The latest price monitoring sheet from the Department of Agriculture shows local red onion prices are between PHP250 to PHP310 (US$4.61 to US$5.72), while imported white onions are sold at PHP150 to PHP260 (US$2.77 to US$4.80) — already a large drop from when onions were sold at PHP700 (US$12.92) a kilo in markets last December.
Although the government’s move to approve 21,000 tons of imported onions have pushed back prices by PHP200 to PHP300 (US$3.69 to US$5.54), the once-common kitchen ingredient continues to be out of reach for several consumers.
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