Farmers cry over bumper onion crop
The number of onions grown in Switzerland this year is set to be 25 per cent above the three-year average, but farmers are not celebrating.
The Swiss vegetable growers’ association said the 23,417 tonnes of onions – a result of optimal weather conditions in summer and autumn – were pushing the price down.
The recommended price is now SFr0.45 ($0.52) per kilo compared with SFr0.75 last year – a figure which doesn’t cover production costs, according to the association.
It also complained that exporting the excess onions wasn’t possible, despite their low price, because markets in European Union countries were also saturated.
It added that Switzerland could also expect celery, cabbage and carrot mountains.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.