Poor harvest hikes the price of onions

The scarcity of onions across the country has forced farmers and middlemen to hike prices. 

In Soroti City, for instance, a kilogramme of onions is now going for Shs8,000. In Lira City, a kilogramme is trading at Shs6,000, up from about Shs2,500. 

Fresh food vendors in Kigezi Sub-region attribute the increased pricing to the dry spell that led to low production.

Mr Albert Birungi, an agronomist from Kigezi Sub-region, said a kilogramme of red onions has increased from Shs2,500 to Shs8,000, while a bag currently costs Shs1.1 million, up from Shs320,000. 

In 2022, a bag used to cost Shs70,000, he said.

“Most farmers have already harvested and consumed all the onions, while others are now in the nursery bed,’’ Mr Birungi said during an interview at the weekend. 

Mr Birungi, who is also a red onion farmer from Kabale District, said the country is now importing red onions from Tanzania, which has also halted exportation because its facing a scarcity of the product. 

He is, however, optimistic that the prices will go down over the next four months. 

Tanzania is the leading producer of onions in the region, and it supplies the product to Uganda and Kenya. 

In Uganda, onions are mostly grown in the western and eastern parts of the country.

Mr Daniel Maka, an onion farmer from Ikanda Village, Buyende Sub-county in Buyende District, said the price of red onions is likely to reduce in November because they have started growing them. 

He has convinced other farmers to grow onions because they will reap big in the coming months. 

In Jinja District, some households have abandoned purchasing the red bulb vegetable.

Ms Zaituni Nasuna, a resident of Jinja City, said onions have been one of her most-preferred spices at home, but she resorted to only using tomatoes because she cannot afford to pay Shs6,000 for a kilogramme. 

Earlier, while speaking during the 10-day National Agricultural Show in Jinja City, the Uganda National Farmers’ Federation (UNFFE) urged farmers to embrace agricultural technology to boost food production. 

Seed variety
Mr Nelson Tukundana, the corporate public relations manager for UNFFE, said to boost production of food spices such as onions – which only take about four months to grow – farmers need to change from using traditional seeds to improved drought-resistant seeds. 

“Farmers must use the right seeds, right fertilizers, and technologies such as irrigation, instead of using fake seeds. Less than five percent of them (farmers) are using fertilizers. Onions are scarce because farmers have refused to change their mindset,’’ Mr Tukundana said. 

Mr Crescent Mugisha, the chairperson of the board of Kigezi Onion Farmers’ Cooperative, attributed the hike in the price of onions to limited supply, yet there is high demand both in the local and international market. 

“By April, it started raining, then it stopped, and it has never rained again yet the onions have started producing bulbs and need a lot of water. Instead, the size of the bulbs reduced, causing a shortage,’’ he explained. 

As a result, Mr Mugisha said they have embarked on investing in irrigation as one of the ways to boost production. 

Ms Janet Ajambo, a sales manager at Top Seeds Company in Namawojjolo in Mukono District, said when the prices skyrocket, “it means there is high external demand for red onions”.

He added that a kilogramme of red onions in Kampala costs Shs8,000, while in Mbale District, it goes for Shs5,500. 

Climate change
Mr Alex Muhumuza, the chairman of Fresh Food Traders at Kabale Central Market, said the changes in the rainfall patterns affected production. 

“There was little rain in March and April this year and this affected the growth of onions resulting in low production. In July last year, we had enough onions and the prices were favourable to the buyers because the season was good,” he said. 

“Last year in July, the price of a kilogramme of onions was between Shs1,800 and Shs2,000, but now because of scarcity, the price of a kilogramme of onions is between Shs4,500 and Shs6,000,” Mr Muhumuza added.

Global demand
Mr Richard Muhanguzi, an onion farmer in Murambi Parish, Ntungamo District, said the good prices of onions being offered in the neighbouring South Sudan and Rwanda could be responsible for the scarcity.

“While we had challenges of low production, most of the onions that were harvested during the months of February and March were exported to the neighbouring countries because there were good prices there. 

“Exporting the onions to the neighbouring countries at the time of its harvest has  hiked its prices,” he said.

What they said...

Seed variety
 “Farmers must use the right seeds, right fertilizers, and technologies such as irrigation, instead of using fake seeds. Less than five percent of them (farmers) are using fertilizers...’’ Mr Nelson Tukundana, public relations manager for Uganda National Farmers’ Federation

Dry spell. 
“There was little rain in March and April this year and this affected the growth of onions resulting in low production. In July last year, we had enough onions and the prices were favourable...’’ Mr Alex Muhumuza, the chairman of Fresh Food Traders at Kabale Central Market 

Complied by Bill Oketch, Tausi Nakato, Simon Peter Emwamu, Robert Muhereza, Naume Biira & Julius Hafasha