DA, BOC seize P2M smuggled red onions from China

The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) intercepted 25 metric tons of smuggled red onions from China valued at approximately P2 million in Misamis Oriental.

The onions arrived on May 26 and were discovered on June 11 at the Mindanao International Container Terminal, hidden within a shipment declared as frozen goods.

The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) requested the BOC to withhold the shipment due to received 'derogatory information', leading to a physical examination that confirmed the undeclared fresh red onions.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. highlighted the swift coordination between the DA-BPI and BOC, ensuring the smuggled goods did not reach local markets.

No sanitary and phytosanitary import permits were issued for these red onion shipments from China.

The government plans to file legal cases against the smugglers, including Lantix Consumer Goods Trading, under the new Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act.