UK onion growers face a troublesome season as quality, storability and volumes nose-dive into the mire.
A report from the British Onion Producers Association (BOPA) says this season has been one of the worst on record, with an extremely wet and late spring proving highly damaging.
Yields are 15 per cent down on 2000, and acreage has dropped 5 per cent since last year.
And although the association states that early sets have shown good quality it says that poor skin finish on later product – some of which is immature – will hamper marketability.
Low quality on much of the crop means the product is unlikely to keep well.
BOPA fears that the pre-pack market will be in tight supply by the New Year, as UK growers struggle to satisfy strong demand for the staple. Levels of quality onions are simply not there, it says.
The dismal news has increased the threat of imports controlling the market, amid fears that once foreign supply chains are opened they may become difficult to close down in future seasons.
For this reason the pro-UK body has urged domestic suppliers to concentrate their efforts on satisfying demand at home, before attempting to sell their product overseas.
