According to Food and Agriculture Organization’s report, half of the red onions sold in Kenyan markets are grown in Tanzania.
Local farmers are trying their best to address the demand and close the gap, although the demand is always higher than the supply. This demand makes the red bulb onion investment an attractive commercial investment.
Households in Kenya have to dig deeper into their pockets to buy onions as prices rise sharply due to a biting shortage. The price of a kilo of onions has shot up by 86 percent, selling at 150 shillings up from 80 shillings three months ago.
The new price has been caused by a shortage of supply from Tanzania which normally floods the markets with its high-grade onions. Traders are now being forced to rely on the local crop that is selling at a wholesale price of 100 shillings per kilo.
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In Busia, a 13-kilogram bag of dry onions is retailing at 850 shillings meaning that a kilogram is being sold at around 65 shillings.
In Nakuru, the dry ones are being sold at 70 shillings per kilogram, with a 13 kg bag going for 910 shillings. The same 13 kg bag is being sold at 750 shillings and 1,040 shillings in Nairobi and Eldoret, respectively.
In Kisii, a 13-kilogram bag is retailing at 650 shillings, while in Kitui and Kakamega, the same 13-kilogram bag of dry onions is retailing at 830 shillings, respectively.
Spring onions, on the other hand, are way less cheap as compared to dry onions, because on average, a kilogram of the spring type is being sold at 15 shillings.
Spring onions are retailing highest in Kisii, with a 142-kilogram bag going for 1895 shillings, 1,460 shillings, and 1,400 shillings in Nakuru and Eldoret, respectively.
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