BRITISH ONIONS PREPARES FOR BUMPER CROP
2012 is set to be a great year for British Onions. The British Onion Producers’ Association (BOPA) has announced nearly all growers have completed harvesting and that this year’s yield is higher with improved quality.
With increased yields comes the opportunity for the UK to become ever more self-sufficient. With an annual onion consumption of roughly 600’000 tonnes, British production is around 500’000 this year which means the time is ripe for British Onion growers to secure a much larger slice of the overall market for the long term.
Southern hemisphere imports have been dropping since 2007 due to advances in storage techniques and earlier varieties in the UK. Imports from Spain are also on the decline with British Onions being used for the three pack net, traditionally the domain of the Spaniards.
Robert Oldershaw of The British Onion Producers’ Association said “The quality of the crop is excellent this year. Average yields across Europe are also higher but there is variable quality in the Dutch crop due to wet harvest conditions.
“The challenge for the British industry this year is finding a home for all of the crop as many processors have aligned themselves with growers and trading companies with contracted volumes for the year. Ultimately we’re aiming for 100% self sufficiency during the northern hemisphere season and harvests such as this one get us one step closer to achieve that goal.”
Founded in 1986, the British Onion Producers' Association Ltd was formed with the objective of improving quality standards and ensuring year round continuity of quality British onions, securing the profitability of growing British onions.
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Wednesday, November 16, 2011 tagged British Onions, Phipps PR, Press Releases