The price of onions in the Philippines has more than quadrupled in the past four months and the government has launched an investigation into cartels after lawmakers filed resolutions against illegal onion trading.

The Philippine government has approved the purchase of over 21,000 metric tons of onions and it is expected to arrive by the end of January. Meanwhile, overseas Filipinos are helping their families by bringing onions as gifts when they travel back home, Arab News reports.

April Manuel, who works in Dubai, said: “It’s no longer chocolates that will make the family happy, but onions!”

A Dubai-based dental assistant, Mitzi Panganiban, said she regrets not stuffing her mother-in-law’s bags with more onions as she returned to the Philippines. She only “packed 2 kg for her to bring home,” saying she “should have made it 4 kg”.