Spanish onions are taking advantage of the remarkable fall in yields experienced by most producing countries of central Europe and other third countries.
The Spanish onion production has not only recovered in terms of yield, but has actually almost broken a record this year, despite the fact that the acreage devoted to this vegetable was reduced by 4%.
"It is one of the best onion campaigns we could have wished for. There are many producers who have opted for transplant planting and drip irrigation, and this is resulting in a more abundant harvest, more uniformity in sizes and greater quality, in general," explains Luis Fernando Rubio, director of Procecam. "The weather has also been milder this year, without heat waves causing the plants to stress, as was the case last season."
Luis Fernando Rubio says that although the prices paid for the onions in the export markets do not reflect the product shortage, they are still at very high levels. "We are getting much more demand than usual from countries such as Israel, Turkey, Eastern countries, etc. Production in the Central European countries has fallen significantly this year due to the dry weather, and calibers have been reduced. We have a wide availability of medium and large sizes this year, which puts in a truly advantageous position."
The market doesn't know yet whether the quality of Dutch onions, as some fear, will eventually be affected by this year's dry weather, which is motivating more buyers to demand Spanish onions. "The prices are high for the Spanish onions, but also in the rest of Europe, in general," says the representative of Procecam. "Spanish onions have great opportunities this year."
For more information:
Luis Fernando Rubio
PROCECAM
lfrubio@procecam.es
www.procecam.es