Recently, there have been large differences between onion prices. The price of purple onions, for example, is 1.2 to 2 yuan per 500 gram, while that of yellow onions is 0.88 to 1.8 yuan. The higher priced onions mostly come from Gansu. The others are left from the previous season, and their quality is not very good. The onion production costs in Gansu are higher than in North and East China. The price of the large quantities of Gansu onions on the market is only just as high as the production costs.
The rise in the price of yellow onions has to do with a drop in the production area and an increase in exports. This year, the total production area of Gansu yellow onions is 2000 hectares (20.000 mu) smaller than last year, decreasing the production by 160.000 tons. Because 85% of Chinese yellow onions are exported, and the export to South Korea grew, there was a rise in prices. The warm weather in Gansu was also half a month earlier than in previous years, so the sprouts came out earlier as well. Therefore, high quality products are rather scarce. Because of these factors, storage owners and processing companies all quickly bought the products. The farmers, on the other hand, were becoming more reluctant to sell. Yellow onions in storage have become very popular.
However, after several days of rain last week, the attitude on the market has changed. As the rain influences the harvest of onions, the market is worried that the quality will gradually deteriorate. When considering the costs, many actors on the market are reducing their quantity of onions. From last Wednesday, the yellow onion price has gradually become stable.
Source: New Countryside Commerce