Onion Production Decreases by 26.7% Year-on-Year Due to Reduced Cultivation Area

Farmers are shouting slogans at the "National Producers' Rally Urging Measures Against Agricultural Product Price Collapse and Criticizing the Moon Jae-in Government's Agricultural Policy," held on the 19th at Gwanghwamun Square, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Despite favorable weather conditions leading to good crop growth, the production volume of onions decreased by 26.7% compared to the previous year due to a sharp decline in cultivation area.

According to the "2020 Barley, Garlic, and Onion Production Survey Results" announced by Statistics Korea on the 20th, this year's onion production was recorded at 1,168,227 tons, a 26.7% decrease from last year. During the same period, the yield per 10a (1000㎡) increased by 8.7% due to favorable weather conditions, but the cultivation area shrank by 32.5% to 14,673 hectares, which had a significant impact. The reduction in cultivation area was due to last year's drop in onion prices.

The increase in yield per unit area is attributed to favorable weather conditions such as adequate rainfall and abundant sunlight during the period when the bulbs were growing larger (April to May). By region, Jeonnam accounted for 452,737 tons, representing 38.8% of total production, followed by Gyeongnam with 248,082 tons (21.2%), and Gyeongbuk with 191,509 tons (16.4%).

(Source: Statistics Korea)

Garlic production was 363,432 tons, a 6.3% decrease compared to the previous year. Similarly, the yield per 10a increased by 2.3% due to favorable weather conditions, but the cultivation area decreased by 8.4% due to last year's drop in garlic prices.

By region, Gyeongnam accounted for 97,511 tons, representing 26.8% of total production, followed by Gyeongbuk with 83,020 tons (22.8%), and Jeonnam with 70,437 tons (19.4%).

In the case of barley, production sharply declined by 28.2% to 143,669 tons compared to last year. The cultivation area decreased by 20.0%, and poor weather conditions caused the yield per 10a to drop by 10.2%, resulting in a steep decline.

By region, Jeonnam accounted for 63,391 tons, representing 44.1% of total production, followed by Jeonbuk with 48,411 tons (33.7%), and Gyeongnam with 14,807 tons (10.3%).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.