Why do Onion prices drastically increases in the Philippines?

Hi there readers, I know that most of you especially people who are currently residing in the Philippines have this common ranting about the overwhelming increase in the market price of onions, right? In fact, most of our social media platforms today have been bombarded with hundreds of memes pertaining to this issue. Well, we can't blame the consumers because as we all know onions are one of the usual ingredients we use in our daily cuisine, and admit it or not, there are only a few remedies or substitute for these typical ingredients. However, this is not the first time it happens, in fact, it happens every year round and it can also happen to other products or goods most especially when the market supply, demand, importation, and exportation fluctuates not to mention other trade barriers that might add to the costs and prices of the product, of course, I know that not all of us can understand this scenario and the jargons mentioned above. Therefore this article means to elaborate and explains to you how and why a certain product or goods drastically increases in price.

Note: "The following explanation are based on the author's knowledge accumulated during his long years of study in the field of commerce where basic to average economic understanding is being taught"

So, let's get to the point, most of you already have an idea of the law of supply and demand, at least I hope so. Here is what might have occurred and resulted in the problem we are facing;

• There has been a shortage in supply: remember the basic foundation of supply and demand in relation to the product's price, if a shortage in supply occurred but the demand remains the same or probably increases because as we all know it's Christmas season, then the prices will surely rise up. So, why did we experience a shortage? There are drivers for this situation such as the season, yes, there has been a shortage in supply because it's not yet the best harvest season for onions, another thing is the transportation costs, spoilage costs, and other direct costs which in turn affect the price of the product in the market.

• Minimal to non-substitute products: as the phrase suggests, there are only a few or perhaps no other substitutes for the products to fill in the shortage, so, if there is no substitute product then the price will go up.

• Intermediaries: Yes, intermediaries might also affect the sudden rise in prices. Intermediaries mean the governing bodies that regulate market prices.

• Importation/exportation: If there is a shortage, the state can or governing bodies of the state can import a certain amount to ease the problem. Yes, it might be a solution provided that it will not import too much because too much importation might cause another problem which I will no longer tackle because it's not from the point of view of the consumer.

• Hoarding: admit it or not, there are still people who will hoard their products and sell them at much higher prices when a shortage in supply like this occurs. Yeah, it is prohibited but we all know something like this is always out of reach by law.

Note 2: The author decided not to include inflation, and the use of equilibrium on the list due to complicated explanations that might make this article a novel.

So, there they are readers, which do you think is the cause of the exaggerated price increase in onion price today in the Philippine market? Are you still willing to use onions in your cuisine, or are you're gonna use other substitutes instead? Either way, it won't take long before the price comes back to normal.