April 14 2006, 13:14

Onion acreage extends in Cherkasy oblast

According to the poll results, this season onion producers of Cherkasy oblast plan to extend onion acreage up to 15%. This information was provided to "Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits" journal by Sergey Strokan, the Market Information Specialist of Cherkasy office, the Agricultural Marketing Project.

The situation on onion market contributes to this trend development. Past year the demand for this product was quite good, the prices would not go lower $0.17-0.19/kg even in a peak season. The producers made a good profit on that. The retail price decrease trend is observed for onion nowadays; but, the prices are still 50-60% higher comparing to the same period of time in 2005.

Some producers switch from variety to hybrid onion seeds; they also apply drip irrigation. If the weather conditions are favorable this season, there is a great probability for the prices to be lower than in the past season.