Set onion crops are suffering badly and the outlook for the harvest is poor, according to Tim Wigram, chairman of the British Onion Producers Association (BOPA).
"The abnormally wet and dull weather of the last eight weeks has started to have a serious effect. In a normal year the industry would be looking forward to the harvest of the early season crop," he said.
The combination of the poor quality end to last season with the recent conditions has already led to very tight supply, currently reflected in high prices. At present 60/80mm onions for processing are making £300 per tonne, compared with £160-£180 at this time last year.
If conditions continue for the next fortnight BOPA believes there will be a further detrimental affect on both crop quality and volume because of staining and the high potential danger of internal quality problems reducing saleable yield.
At this stage it is too early to predict quality of the main drilled crop which is available for sale from late September onwards. "However, it is clear that the supply of onions in the UK and Europe will be very tight until mid-October until the results of this harvest is known," he added.
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