The price of onions increased during this period to 8 lei/kg, doubling in just two weeks. HotNews spoke to several growers and government officials about the reasons for the rise in onion prices and also tried to find out how long the onion shortage will last.

This is explained by the fact that Romania is among the top ten onion producers in Europe. It should be noted here that the onion crisis exists not only in Romania, but also in the entire EU.

Onions are a staple of all cuisines around the world, the most consumed vegetable in the world after tomatoes. In Romania, onions are the fourth most consumed vegetable after potatoes, cabbage and tomatoes (according to data provided by statistics). One way or another, onions are used in many dishes – from soups to sauces or side dishes (for example, chicken liver).

Prices appear on the eve of the Easter holidays, when housewives compete in the preparation of culinary dishes

Mariana Atănăsoaiei from Romania. He rented a stall in the capital’s market, where he sells “Romanian onions” – this is what is written on the label of one of the onions he sold.

“You’re not seeing Roman onions,” she tells me when I ask her how 8 lei per kg of onions came to be. This is from the Netherlands. Ours really did not manage because it was dry. We buy goods from wholesalers for 6 lei, and we give 8 lei each, how much do we give them?” Atanesoayei says. Today (Friday) we are going to bring our Romanian product, but it still costs 8-9 lei per stall, because transport is expensive,” she explains.

It is possible that sellers will take advantage of the onion shortage and add a speculative component to the price

Romanian officials I spoke with say that apart from the problem of the war in Ukraine, which has led to a significant reduction in Ukrainian onion exports, Europe as a whole has faced very poor onion production. In addition, we do not rule out that sellers take advantage of the onion shortage and add a speculative component to the price. To use the lack of onions to round off your income, to be more precise,” says the Romanian official.

According to him, the authorities will soon start checking wholesalers and large producers to see the exact situation with onion stocks.

The state secretary in the government office admitted that many farmers did not grow onions this year, because last year they were satisfied with the too low price, which did not justify the creation of crops. Now they regret it and started growing it very hastily, which means that we should see “normal” prices for the onion harvest no later than autumn, he explains.

“We had to change the recipe, because the price of onions would make the cutlets more expensive by 50%”

In Romanian supermarkets, onions are either from France, or from Poland, or from Holland

By the way, Poland is one of the biggest winners of this onion crisis, its onion exports increased by 60% from July 2022 to December of the same year.

Those who sell ready-made food or catering enterprises also suffer from the price increase of onions. Andriy Luka has a small restaurant located on the territory of the market, where both those who are in a hurry, those who did not have time to cook, and visitors to the market come to buy products. “One of the best-selling products was meatballs – marinated or plain. We had to change the recipe, because at the price of onions, the meatballs would be 50% more expensive and we would not be able to sell at that price. So we reduced the amount of onions by 50% and some regular customers noticed and slapped us. But if I increased their price by 50%, would you still buy from me?”, I asked him. Obviously not, he answered me,” says Andrii Luka.

Our region has the most expensive onion: 1.6 euros/kg

In Romania, according to INS data, onion consumption per inhabitant varies between 20-23 kg per year.

The price of onions in Poland in December 2022, it was three times more than a year ago. It rose to 0.85 euros.

In France – 1 euro/kg. In the Netherlands – 1.19 euros/kg. In Hungary, a kilogram of onions costs 1.49 euros. In the Czech Republic, onions cost 0.93 euros/kg.

In Romania, at a price of 8 lei, onions reached 1.6 euros/kg, which is the highest figure in the region.

Prices are rising, fueling inflation and prompting countries to take measures to secure supplies. Morocco and Turkey have suspended onion exports, as has Kazakhstan. The Philippines has ordered an investigation into possible cartels among onion producers.

In Kazakhstan, rising prices prompted authorities to tap into a strategic reserve, with the trade minister urging people not to buy onions by the bag during the panic to ensure supplies to local supermarkets.

This is in addition to export bans imposed in recent weeks by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan – the world’s biggest per capita consumers. Azerbaijan has restricted sales, and Belarus will grant special licenses to onion transporters.