Faced with selling an onion crop which is 15 per cent lighter than last season and consequently in better balance, UK growers are hopeful that prices will be far better than the rock bottom levels of 2004-2005.

However, Jonathan Tremayne, chairman of the British Onion Producers’ Association (BOPA), speaking to a record audience at its biannual conference held in Peterborough last week warned the industry not to be complacent: “I don’t think it’s going to be easy. There will be variable quality coming out of store.”

He is also concerned over the potential long-term build up of supplies in the enlarged EU, which will increase competition. “We must not be engulfed in a tidal wave from eastern Europe,” he added.

There is however some good news, as Tremayne believes that at long last the import tide from traditional suppliers, such as Spain and Chile, is turning, and UK growers are winning back a share of the market because of quality and storage techniques.

With a season which extends for nine months and longer, this aspect has always been critical and ultimately could receive a boost by the chance discovery of an alternative storage method, using ethylene rather than maleic hydrazide (MH).

This new technique was discovered when, at the suggestion of Tesco, bags of onions were put in store with potatoes. A trial assessment by the Allium and Brassica Centre is still continuing, but David O’Connor, its director, confirmed: “There’s no doubt it is working.”

While the process is still in its infancy, and is three times as expensive, its adoption could point the way to multiples being able to offer customers pesticide free onions in the years ahead.

O’Connor, pictured, explained that traces of MH are absorbed by onions during storage, although levels are safe and well below maximum residue levels. Ethylene on the other hand disappears about four days after the stores are opened.

Another issue, which has placed added emphasis on the discovery, is the fact the EU may well ban the use of MH in the coming years.

In Germany its use is not permitted, and perhaps not surprisingly the results are being tested in research centres in Holland and Poland.

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