Chris Pawelski with his wife Eve, and their sons Jonah and Caleb

Chris Pawelski is a fourth generation Orange County, New York onion farmer. His family’s history in onion farming can be traced through newspaper and journal articles dating back to a 1941 National Geographic feature on onion farming that includes a picture of his great grandmother. Orange County is one of the few areas in the country where some growers earn their farm income exclusively from onion crops. The black soil there, which enriches onions with their characteristic pungent flavor and odor, is particularly well suited to the crop.

Despite the soil’s predisposition to onion cultivation, Pawelski says that most of the area’s onion farmers have gone out of business in the past 15 years. While the price of running a farm has risen steadily, the price that growers earn for their onions has not. Pawelski gets the same average price for his onions now as he did when he graduated from high school in 1984.

Cheap imports have played a role in keeping American farmers from receiving a fair price for their onions. Total fresh onion imports have been increasing steadily since the 1990s. Between 1990 and 2006, edible onion imports have grown by 71 percent. The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts that they will increase by another 32 percent in 2007.¹ In that overall context, imports of onions and other vegetables from Peru have been increasing under current trade agreements. Peru’s exports to the United States have skyrocketed from 365 thousand pounds in 1994 to 122 million pounds in 2006.² In 2007, Congress has been considering a Free Trade Agreement with Peru that would further open our doors to cheap imports and, as a result, could send onion prices plummeting. Indeed, in early November 2007, the House of Representatives voted to approve the free trade deal with Peru. The Senate is expected to approve the agreement, as well.

Even The Packer, a produce industry publication, has raised concerns about Peruvian onion imports. It reports that both Peru and Ecuador glutted the onion market this fall with higher-than-expected yields and have pushed prices down from the $21 to $22 range for a 40-pound carton to a range of $10 to $12. The change in the market has hurt farmers who had no way of knowing they would have to produce more than usual in order to earn a decent profit.³

As imports have increased, U.S. onion acreage has dwindled. Between 1997 and 2002, the harvested dry onion acreage in New York State decreased by 16 percent.⁴ In Pawelski’s Orange County, the number of harvested farms and the number of harvested acres has decreased by almost 50 percent.⁵

According to Pawelski, the type of onion he grows is better than the sweet onions grown in Peru. His have a higher sugar content and are better for cooking. But consumers cannot always recognize this difference when they chose onions at the supermarket, so the Peruvian onions that enter the market at the end of Georgia’s Vidalia onion season compete with New York onions.

Pawelski took a break from growing his flavorful onions for a couple years and worked office jobs instead. “One day I looked out the window at the guys mowing the lawn, and I was jealous of them.” He went back to farming then, and has kept at it through numerous challenges. “If I had a fair price just a couple years, I’d be in better shape.” Peruvian imports will decrease his chances of getting the price he deserves.

Footnotes

¹  “Vegetables and Melons Situation and Outlook Yearbook.” USDA, Economic Research Service, July 26, 2007, p. 59-60.
²  USDA FAS 10 digit HS codes for Fresh onions. Downloaded September 2007.
³  Nelson, Andy. “Glut of Peruvian onions keeps prices low.” The Packer, Lenexa (KS), Nov. 7, 2007.
⁴  Trade Query-Table 35. Vegetables and Melons Harvested for Sale, Dry Onions, New York, 1997-2002, 2002 Census of Agriculture, USDA, NASS.
⁵  Trade Query-Table 29. Vegetables and Melons Harvested for Sale, Dry Onions, New York, Orange County, 1997-2002, 2002 Census of Agriculture, USDA, NASS.