Onions are now so expensive in the Philippines that they've become a luxury item — and people have been trying to smuggle them across the border

• Onions are now a luxury item in the Philippines.
• The price of onions soared to $12.80 per kilogram in December, three times the price of chicken.
• Local authorities seized between $9 million and $11 million worth of smuggled onions in 2022.

Onions are now so expensive in the Philippines that people are trying to smuggle them into the country.