Onion producers in the Comarca de Calatrava, one of the crop's main producing areas in Ciudad Real, are unhappy about the low prices they are receiving for the sale of this product in the current season, as they are barely able to cover the production costs.
With the first half of the campaign that started in June already behind, the prices at origin oscillate between 9 cents per kilo for the smallest onions and 13 cents for the largest. Meanwhile, consumers are paying over 20 times more for the fresh onions.
Moisés González, agricultural technician at the Cooperative of Agricultural Producers and Livestock Farmers (COOVIMAG) in Bolaños de Calatrava, acknowledged that "there is concern" among onion growers because of the low profitability they are getting, reporting also a drop of between 20 and 30% in the production volume, both "due to the lack of time for the product's ripening and to the presence of mosquitoes/thrips that "transmit viruses and diseases."
There have actually been more of these insects during the current harvesting season, "due to the climatic conditions, with high temperatures and dry weather, which are ideal for them."
In spite of this, González wished to highlight the "quality" of the various onion varieties grown in the province (short, medium and long cycle), especially the Reca, in a campaign in which it has become very difficult to survive "because of the bad year for horticulture."
The engineer of the cooperative pointed out that the low prices respond to the interaction between exports and imports in a globalised market "that relies on supply and demand."
In fact, this year's productions in other latitudes, like those of Chile or Brazil, "have been normal."
The Campo de Calatrava concentrates some 1,600 hectares that yield around 120,000 tonnes per campaign and generate employment from the time of sowing until the product's harvest, packaging, distribution and sale.
For his part, J.A., a producer based in Bolaño who has planted 80 hectares of early and late onions, confirmed that Medio Grano onions are sold at an average of between 9 and 11 cents, while the Grano costs between 12 and 14 cents; a profitability threshold below that of an average season.
"With prices above 8 cents, we cover the production costs, even though they are not very high."
Imbalance
Organizations such as the association of Young Agricultural Producers of Ciudad Real (Asaja) regretted a few days ago the low profitability of the province's and the region's horticultural products (onions, melons or watermelons), given the imbalance of prices in the different links of the food chain, as the prices paid by consumers are up to twenty times higher than what growers receive.
Source: lanzadigital.com
