The country is experiencing a shortage of onions due to a decline in imports from Tanzania, which is the main source of onions for the Kenyan market.
Prices of onions have gone up by more than Sh100 per kg.
A spot check by the Star showed that a kilo of onions is selling at between Sh150 to Sh180. This is a significant increase from Sh30 to Sh50 per kg of onions two months ago.
A trader in Ruai market who spoke to the Star on Monday said he is getting onions from as far as Ethiopia through Moyale at Sh150 per kilo.
Alex Ngure, a farm produce trader in Ruai market said he is selling a kg at Sh150, and the quality of the onions is not as good as for the local produce or those from Tanzania.
Traders in Meru said the shortage has forced them to source further and they are now importing onions from Somalia at Sh130 per kg.
James Wanjuki has leased land to grow onions through irrigation in a three-acre farm in Kimunyuru, Kieni constituency.
High cost of production, especially in buying inputs such as seeds, is a challenge. Wanjuki said he has to dig deeper into his pocket to buy the seeds and meet other expenses such as labour and water for irrigation.
He said one needs to understand the market seasons because they come with price variations.
“Onion farming is marketable because there is a ready market but one must know the market seasons. I make sure I have a crop to harvest when not many farmers are having it. I get to sell my onions when the price is good,” he said.
Wanjuki is capitalising on the low supply of onions in the local market and is selling onions at a farm gate price of between Sh130 to Sh150.
Timothy Njagi, a senior researcher from Tegemeo Institute, attributed the shortage to a lot of rains which could have affected production.
Njagi said distribution of the long rains was good, but it could have affected the crops especially if it rained when the bulb of the onions had formed.
He said in 2020 just before Covid-19 pandemic was reported in Kenya, there was a slight shortage of onions and tomatoes in the market but it was short-lived.
Njagi assured Kenyans onions are fast maturing and take two to three months so once production resumes, there will be stable supply and prices will start coming down.
Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that Kenya imports various food products including cereals, legumes, fruits, onions, potatoes and tomatoes mainly from Uganda and Tanzania. But most imported onion supply comes from Tanzania, India and South Africa.
About 50 per cent of the red onions in Kenya are imported from Tanzania according to the UN- Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) 2014 report.