Local onions, garlic, vegetables becoming rare under WTO

The vegetables Filipinos consume may soon come only from Taiwan, mainland China, or the US rather than the Cordilleras or Ilocos as vegetable imports continue to push out local produce from the domestic market, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.

Since the country became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, imported vegetables have flooded local markets. From 42,000 metric tons (MT) in 1995, vegetable importation had grown 174% to 115,000 MT by 2000, five years after the country