Philippine authorities on Wednesday prevented a consignment of onions valued at around 10m pesos (US$226,398) from being smuggled into the country from China, reported ABSCBN News.
The shipment’s consignee Blueharbor Inc declared the goods as electronic equipment but Bureau of Customs (BOC) officials soon became suspicious when they noticed the smell of onions coming from the containers.
Had the shipment not been intercepted, the smuggled onions would likely have been dumped on the local market, affecting prices for locally grown onions.
“Smuggled produce strikes a serious blow to our farmers' livelihood. When these flood the market, our farmers earn less than they should,” said chairperson of the senate committee on agriculture Francis Pangilinan in a press statement.
“According to reports, the government loses 120bn pesos (US$2.7bn) in annual revenue due to smuggling. We need to make examples of these smugglers and convict them so that these unscrupulous traders will be discouraged in the future.'
The BOC has ordered an internal investigation after employees almost let through four of the eight seized containers.
Charges are also being prepared against the owner of Blueharbor.
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