The onion market has hit difficulty this week as a surfeit of supply and dearth of demand combine.
Wholesale market traders have reported a clash in availability of Spanish white onion with the grano crop which is newly onstream.
One trader said the overlap this week between pale white onions and grano is more marked this season than usual. "The white onions should have shifted already and they haven't and Grano have been coming into the markets," he said.
But importer Peter Darling of KK Marketing Ltd does not believe the situation is likely to disrupt the market for long. "Trade has been good up until this week," said Darling. "Demand was good right up to July 19-20, but once schools and colleges shut there is a downturn in demand and that is completely normal at this time of year."
The company specialises in onions and potatoes and Darling reports that the southern hemisphere onion crop is coming to an end. "It has all but finished and what is left now, has been in store since May," said Darling. "In about three weeks time, all the supermarkets will be into Spanish crops and if anything, Grano is slightly later than usual this year by about two weeks. Growing conditions have been good so far, especially compared to last year when the heat cause a lot of stress problems in the crop."
Other traders speculate that weather conditions around Europe have brought crops on so that new season English onions are alredy available in some areas, and the UK is even receiving produce from Italy.
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