EU-25 onion crop reduced due to unfavourable weather most of year

摘要

ONION production in the EU25 (without Romania and Bulgaria) is put at 4.84 million tonnes, 8% below the 5.25 million tonne crop harvested last year. The decline is entirely due to lower yields, as in most European producer countries plantings were expanded by between 5-10%, data presented at the Euronion meeting of European onion growers associations in Luton, England, show. Central European crops did not respond well to the late and often wet spring, the heatwave in June/July or the rain in August and September. The harvest was delayed, with a substantial proportion of European onions still in the fields at the beginning of October. The late harvest, under conditions which were often too wet, led to higher costs for drying and made increased efforts to ensure quality during storage necessary. The onions are turning out smaller on average than last year and large-grade product will be rare.