Remember when onions cost P800 a kilo? Regulators have now penalized the firms behind it with the biggest fine they’ve ever imposed.
The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) fined six firms and their officers a total of P1.76 billion for an illegal market allocation scheme in the importation, cold storage, and wholesale distribution of onions. PCC executive director Kenneth Tanate said at a press conference on Oct. 15 that it is the largest penalty so far under the Philippine Competition Act. Because onions are a prime commodity, the law automatically triples the penalty.
According to the PCC, the scheme let the firms control nearly 50% of all import clearances for onions. Evidence from a court-ordered dawn raid in September 2023, the commission said, showed how it worked: Golden Shine International Freight Forwarders applied for clearances using other importers’ credentials and named the same importers as consignees. The shipments were then routed to Tian Long Corp.’s cold storage and distributed nationwide.
The fined firms are Golden Shine, Tian Long, La Reina Fresh Vegetables & Young Indoor Plants Inc., and Yom Trading Corp. Two sole proprietors, Vegefru Producing Store and Rosal Fruit and Vegetable Trading, were also fined, along with several officers: Golden Shine president Lilia Cruz, Eric Pabilona, Renato Francisco Jr. and Letty Baculando.
The PCC decided the case on Oct. 1, and the firms have until Oct. 16 to pay. They may seek reconsideration, Tanate said. Fines were computed from actual import-clearance volumes and wholesale prices reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority, because, the commission said, the firms understated their financial performance. The PCC may also recommend a criminal case to the Department of Justice.
These are the PCC’s findings. No statement from the fined firms appeared in the report we reviewed.
