Due to the extreme heat this season, Ukraine is expected to experience a significant shortage of quality onions. According to Andriy Marushchak, Commercial Director at Van Dyke Technics, this year's weather conditions have significantly impacted onion production.
Despite the use of drip irrigation, the scorching temperatures have prevented onions from reaching optimal size. This is particularly evident in east regions. As a result, there was an abundance of small-sized onions at the start of the season, which led to a temporary decrease in prices as farmers began harvesting and selling their crops directly from the fields.
Marushchak anticipates that onion prices will rise after the New Year due to the anticipated shortage of high-quality onions. While some western regions of Ukraine have seen better growing conditions, most onion production is concentrated in the southern regions.
The changing climate is causing a gradual shift in vegetable production towards western Ukraine, but replicating the full scale of southern production in new areas remains challenging.
Source: seeds.org.ua