_{Photo: Yellow onions}

by Charles Gladden

COROZAL TOWN, Thurs. Jan. 16, 2025

Onion farmers from throughout the country met with the Belize Marketing and Development Corporation (BMDC), the marketing arm of the Ministry of Agriculture, in Corozal on Tuesday, January 14, at the Corozal ITVET building, to voice their concerns related to onion production and sales.

The meeting is held by the BMDC annually to present and discuss the previous year’s production figures to the farmers, and develop strategies for selling their products in the Belizean market.

“They’re voicing their concerns, valid; we are not angry with them as a ministry. We are here to do our part to ensure they can sell their product. Everything about this meeting today is to ensure that there is clear communication between the ministry and the farmers, and that we can assure them that they can sell their product,” said Andrew Mejia, Director of Extension Services for the Ministry of Agriculture.

According to Mejia, the ministry is projecting the production of approximately two million pounds of onions in different variations – yellow, white, and purple; but that amount can only sustain the country for approximately six months, resulting in the ministry allowing onion importation for the other six months.

However, the farmers do not believe that the importation of the onions is justified, and in a letter to the government that bears the signatures of five cooperatives, they have asked GoB to terminate the importation of onion, and expressed their belief that they can supply the country with yellow onions throughout the year.

_{Photo: Orlando Eck, Chairperson for the Concepcion Vegetable Farmers’ Cooperative}

“We have enough yellow onions, but we might not have the purple and white onions to supply the country; people won’t die. But we will have the yellow ones that could supply the country, and if you understand our position, we are out there [rain or shine] every day on the farm to produce good-quality onions. As you can see, we have good-quality yellow onions,” said Orlando Eck, chairperson for the Concepcion Vegetable Farmers’ Cooperative. “If they stop importation now, we might have a good transition. But if there is an import, white and purple, that will mess [up] the price of the yellow one. In Belize, as you know, we don’t have a lot of people, but we can consume a certain amount. That’s why we were saying, if they don’t import white and purple, we will have enough yellow to supply the country,” he added.

The onion farmers are not alone in their concern over the illegal importation of vegetables. Eck highlighted that farmers who cultivate vegetables like carrots and lettuce are facing the same difficulties. More importantly, they’re afraid their crops could end up like the local carrots in San Carlos, Orange Walk District, and rot due to low sales.

_{Photo: Carrots}

“The white onions right now are at $260; if I’m not mistaken, the 65 pounds, it’s $260 wholesale at Belize. So, if we divide that, it’s how much for a pound? That is the wholesale price; in a retail price you will get $325, even if they are trying to get $350 and that’s expensive, it’s the same thing with carrots. When BMDC imported it, the price went from $120 to $135 at the market, and we are selling the carrots for $45 and $50. So, if we sell wholesale, we should sell like $35 or even $30, so that the intermediate buyers could make a profit. So, we hopefully could get a good price, because yesterday the price dropped in Belize City, and the yellow onion dropped because of the ‘mawga’ season we have right now,” said Eck.

“… The price of onion was $3; we are just starting, and the price is dropping. We need to make a profit; people are losing, and a big loss,” he added.
The Corozal District is the largest producer of onions in the country.