The EastFruit team from Tajikistan reports that onion prices continue to plummet. On Sunday, March 5, 2023, wholesale onion prices dropped to $0.63/kg, down by almost a third in just 9-10 days. At the same time, market participants believe that the decline in onion prices in the country may continue this week and even accelerate.
In addition to a sharp increase in average daily air temperatures affecting the quality of onions of those farmers and traders who still had stocks, the upcoming harvesting of early onions in the country’s southern regions is putting pressure on onion prices in Tajikistan.
Thus, Tajikistan is turning from a country with one of the highest prices for onions into a country with the lowest ones. The traders in no hurry to sell onions two or three weeks ago, expecting even higher profits, are now more disappointed than others. After all, their losses in recent days on each tonne of onions already exceed $220.
At the same time, the export of onions from Tajikistan is still banned. There is still no clarity on when export restrictions will be lifted, which makes early onion producers nervous, as early onions cannot be stored for a long time.
Recall that Tajikistan is one of the twenty largest global exporters of onions. The average annual volume of onion exports from this Central Asian country reaches 90 000-100 000 tonnes, despite very complex and expensive logistics. However, onion production in the country is not mechanized, and its main advantage is cheap labor and a climate favorable for growing a wide range of onion varieties and hybrids.
For more information: east-fruit.com