Rustler Produce has developed a new variety of onion exclusively for Sainsbury’s so that the store can offer northern hemisphere onions year round. The new strain is grown in Spain and is paler in appearance than standard Spanish onions but has a full strong flavour similar to an early UK onion.

The store’s senior vegetable buyer Russell Crowe said: "This initiative is the culmination of a three-year growing protocol and along with our programme of extending the UK season, will allow us to reduce our dependency on southern hemisphere onions for the first time."

Selected Sainsbury’s stores are already offering the onion this week. It retails at 64p a kilo and is the result of co-operation between Rustler and its joint venture with Las Lomas Trust in south-western Spain.

Product availability should continue until the start of the UK season in mid-August and some 800 tonnes of production are forecast this season with volumes rising in upcoming seasons.

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