The onion campaign is coming to an end in the Spanish regions of Murcia and Andalusia, and, in general, there has been a lack of production and high prices due to the spring rains, which delayed the harvests and facilitated the spread of pests. Yields have been low, and many kilos have been lost due to the excess humidity.
"Due to this shortage, all the onions we imported from Peru have been sold, and the price at the source of early Spanish onions has reached 60 cents/kilo, despite the imports from Turkey and Egypt. Although the quality of Spanish onions makes them worthy of such prices, I hope these will become more competitive as the season progresses," says Adrián Bernal, Sales Manager of Cebollas Bernal.
The situation is completely different from that of last season, when onion producers in the region of La Mancha failed to cover their costs, with prices at source dropping as low as 8 cents per kilo due to "oversupply and low quality," says the executive.
At the moment, "there are onions from third countries sold at lower prices, and these could potentially take some market share away from Spanish onions, whose prices are rising. However, this is not happening, and we believe it's a matter of quality and reputation," he says.
A race against the heat
Early onion arrives in Murcia and Andalusia in April, and the campaign lasts until June. "It's a short and intense season, as the product cannot be stored for long due to the heat. High temperatures are also harmful for Medio Grano onions; both are then at risk of being affected by black mold, and this pressure leads to high rotation," says the Sales Manager.
The season picks up with the arrival of the Grano de Oro variety in July, which, according to Bernal, "was still very small when the spring rains fell, and it may have grown to larger sizes because of this. But in any case, we are keeping an eye on the possible impact of the usual August storms."
The company was founded in 2005 and, according to the Sales Manager, it covers "the Murcia, Andalusia, and La Mancha seasons, from April to October. The volumes in storage peak by the end of this period," and sales continue until February. "We prefer to work with domestic onions and only import for a couple of months from Peru, Mexico, Senegal, and Chile. In total, we handle 15 million kilos of yellow, purple, sweet, white, and shallot onions a year, packed in nets, sacks, or boxes, which we deliver to national and European supermarkets," he says.
One of the biggest handicaps is labor costs, because "this sector is very competitive. In La Mancha, everything is more mechanized, but in Murcia and Andalusia, the process relies on manual work, which results in higher costs. Apart from this, I believe that professional training would be necessary to ensure we have enough qualified labor."
For more information:
Adrián Bernal
Cebollas Bernal
Tel.: +34 673 75 74 90
[email protected]
https://cebollasbernal.es