Onion production exceeded that of 2018 and prices are very good, although there are a few discards.
"There are a few health problems for some batches of red and white onions, as storms hit our region when it was almost harvesting time affecting shelf-life," explains an operator from Emilia-Romagna.
Still, producer prices are good at 18-22 eurocents/kg for golden onions and 25-30 eurocents/kg for red and white onions. "For those producers who managed good yields, sales have been profitable and they will obtain an excellent gross saleable production."
At the moment,the produce is sold mostly on the domestic market and clients - wholesalers to the big retail chains - prefer Italian onions. Daniele Mazzotti, an operator from the Cesena wholesale market, reports that onions are sold at between €0.60 and €0.80/kg, depending on the type. "Copper-skinned onions are among the most popular and can even reach €1/kg."
"Prices are within the average range although, some days, there have been oversupplies and it has been difficult to sell. Anyway onions do not vary a lot in terms of sold quantities throughout the year," explains Rosanna Biondi from the Biondi Giulio wholesale stall.