As some 35,000 quintals of onion imported from the Netherlands will enter the country in the early days of January, the producers of Tierras Altas have declared they will be vigilant and alert because, according to them, the product arriving in Panama is about to expire.
Producers have stated that "Panama is importing more onions from the Netherlands than the country's average monthly consumption volume."
They said it was very likely that the remnants of imported onions from the Netherlands could be stored and later be introduced in domestic markets.
"This Dutch onion has a shelf life of 120 days after being harvested, so it will expire during storage, it will be an old, unmarketable product that is not suitable for human consumption, so it should be discarded immediately," the producers of Chiriqui said in a statement.
Augusto Jimenez, the president of the Association of Producers of Tierras Altas (ACPTA), said the onion production in the northern hemisphere (Netherlands, United States, etc.) took place between spring and summer (from March 15 to September 15) and that the harvest began in July and lasted until the beginning of October.
"According to the import protocol signed between Panama and the Netherlands, the Dutch product would expire by the 15 of January so the onions imported from this country should be withdrawn from the national market," Jimenez said.
The producer also said that, according to the Authority for Food Safety (Aupsa) some 35,000 quintals of Dutch onions should enter Panama on January 10 and, according to the import protocol, this onions must be consumed before January 15, so the question arises: will all this product be sold in five days?
