Producers and consumers have seen onion prices skyrocket. During 2022, onion prices increased by 238% due to the increase in production costs, a reduction in planted hectares, and the decrease in production yield because of the weather.
In week 15 of 2023, onion prices at origin stood at 1.3 euro, far from the 0.2 euro registered in the same week of last year.
The sector estimates that prices will most likely continue to be high because there are very few onions due to the drought, stated Carmen Camacho from the Coordinator of Agricultural and Livestock Organizations (COAG). “Some farms haven't been able to harvest because they didn't have water,” she stressed. “This means their production amounted to zero.”
The country's cultivation area has fallen by 40% due to water scarcity, with a consequent fall in production.
According to the latest data from the Ministry of Agriculture, exports during the 2021/2022 campaign declined by 14% compared to the average of the 2016/2017 and 2020/2021 campaigns. The data also shows that the main buyer countries are France and Germany.
Source: efeagro.com