'Onion cartel' in Philippines fined $28M for price shock

Philippine regulators fined six firms 1.76 billion pesos ($27.9m) for forming an "onion cartel" that triggered an extreme price surge in late 2022, when onions reached about 800 pesos per kilogram - exceeding the daily minimum wage and costing more than some meats. The spike forced restaurants to remove onions from menus, spurred smuggling attempts, prompted emergency imports and drew sharp political pressure on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The shortage became a high-profile crisis that captured public outrage and prompted a parliamentary probe into the causes of the artificial price rise.

Raids and documentary evidence led the Philippine Competition Commission to conclude the companies - importers, cold-storage and shipping firms - collectively controlled nearly 50% of approved onion import clearances in 2020-21 and operated an illegal market-allocation scheme spanning importation, storage and wholesale distribution. The fine is the commission’s largest since 2016 and comes with the possibility of criminal prosecution by the justice department. Prices and supply later stabilized after a domestic bumper harvest in late 2023; regulators framed the penalty as a firm step to deter anti-competitive conduct and protect consumers.