A lack of ventilation in storage and not enough marketing opportunities could do major damage to the onion harvest in Algeria.
The onion harvest this year reached record volumes. Unfortunately the cold stores and warehouses are filled with potatoes, and the direct sales to consumers are nil. The producers of Matemore are thus obliged to store their onion harvest in the open air, risking rain damage.
Investors are called upon to deploy the processing industry in order to boost both potato and onion sales. Since the products are free of chemicals, there is less competition.
According to a producer, all cooling cells are currently filled with potatoes. Before January these cells are needed for storing the next harvest. Other producers believe that next year no potatoes and onions should be grown to prevent even bigger problems