Onion Prices Surge as Local Crop Runs Out Due to Rainy Weather; Imports Increase

If you’ve recently noticed an uptick in the price per pound of white onions, you’re not alone. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security says rainy weather conditions affected this year’s local crop, which has now run out. The ministry issued import licenses, but the price of the vegetable in Mexico has also risen. Chief Executive Officer Servulo Baiza says GOB is aware of the rise in the acquisition cost and notes that the local market is susceptible to issues felt by producers in Mexico.

Servulo Baiza, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Agriculture: “At this point we don’t have local onions in production at this time and the issue with the price of the white onion because the white onion is the one that we import from Mexico and the price over on the Mexican side from the producers that price has gone up so we are basically at the mercy of that price because of the importation. We are not producing onions at the moment as yet. I must say that over on the Mexico side again the weather, the rains have really affected the production and again during this time in December we always see that prices tend to go up. The season I guess there is a high demand during this particular season so that drives up the price also. I think it’s a short term increase in price and once our local producers start coming in also then that should bring down the price.”

Consumers have reported paying upward of $2.50 per pound of white onion.