Onions are currently more expensive than usual due to a tough growing season and the increased price of things like fertiliser and diesel. One retailer says the brown onion has gone up 200 percent. As for the red onion ... it has gone up even more.
Stats NZ figures yesterday showed fruit and vege prices had jumped 17 percent on this time last year; with food price increases the highest in almost a decade and a half.
Onions New Zealand chief executive James Kuperus told Checkpoint a tough growing season had contributed to the high price of onions.
"It was very dry last December and January, that has led to a decrease in yield."
A decreased yield meant onions cost about 72 cents a kilo more than at this time last year, Kuperus said. Other costs had also gone up and some of this had been passed on, he said.
"We've had fertiliser prices go up from around $900 a tonne to $2000, so that's doubled; we've had agri-chemicals go up in price, diesel has gone up from 80 cents a litre to around $2 a litre over three years - so these increased inputs are double, sometimes nearly triple."
Source: RNZ