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Philippines fines 'onion cartel' $28m over 2022 price crisis
Overview
Filipino authorities have fined six companies 1.76 billion pesos ($27.9m) for forming an onion cartel that triggered a massive price surge in late 2022, when onion prices surpassed the daily minimum wage and the cost of meat. The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) stated that the firms controlled nearly 50% of approved import clearances and engaged in an illegal market allocation scheme.
Key points
- Six companies comprising onion importers, storage, and shipping firms were fined 1.76 billion pesos ($27.9m) by the Philippine Competition Commission.
- In late 2022, onion retail prices in the Philippines surged to a record 800 pesos per kilogram, exceeding the price of meat and the daily minimum wage.
- The PCC found that the penalized firms collectively controlled nearly 50% of all approved import clearances for onions in 2020 and 2021 through an illegal market allocation scheme.
- The onion crisis put pressure on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and led to emergency imports before local harvests stabilized prices in 2023.
- The offenders may also face criminal prosecution by the Department of Justice.