World
Onion Production
At least 175 countries grow onions. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, there are an estimated 6.7 million acres of onions in the world, producing 105 billion pounds of onions each year. Approximately 8 percent of this global onion production is traded internationally. Leading onion production countries are China, India, United States, Turkey and Pakistan, respectively.
Domestic
Onion Production
U.S. farmers plant approximately 142,000 acres of onions, producing approximately 6 billion pounds of onions (excluding dehydration production) each year. The U.S. onion industry accounts for 2.5 percent of the world onion acreage and over 7 percent of the world onion production.
U.S.
Production Locations
Onions are grown in more than 20 states, literally border to
border and coast to coast. Leading U.S. onion production areas
are Idaho-Eastern Oregon, Washington and California. (See U.S.
onion acreage/production tables below).
Onion Imports
During the past five years, annual onion imports have ranged from 466 to 689 million pounds. Leading countries importing onions into the U.S. are Mexico, Canada, Peru and Chile.
Onion
Exports
Annual onion exports during the last five years have ranged from 620 to 763 million pounds. Leading export countries for U.S. onions are Canada, Japan, Mexico and Taiwan.
Onion
Producers
The National Onion Association estimates fewer than 1,000 growers produce onions in the United States. Virtually all onion producers grow other agricultural crops.
Value
The annual value of the U.S. onion crop is nearly $1 billion at the farmgate and $4-5 billion at retail.
Following
are the top ten U.S. production areas based on planted onion acreage.
| State
|
Acres
|
| Washington |
22790
|
| Idaho-Eastern Oregon |
21100
|
| California |
20950
|
| Texas |
13600
|
| Georgia |
12500
|
| New York |
10255
|
| Colorado |
9785
|
| New Mexico |
6500
|
| West/Central Oregon |
5550
|
| Other (IL IN IA MS NE NV NJ NM PA SD WY) |
3300
|
Following are the top ten U.S. production areas based on onion
crop volume estimates.
| Production
Area |
Pounds
(x1,000)
|
| Idaho-Eastern Oregon |
1477000000
|
| Washington |
1347000000
|
| California |
1014700000
|
| Texas |
428800000
|
| Colorado |
392450000
|
| New York |
371050000
|
| West/Central Oregon |
335600000
|
| New Mexico |
330800000
|
| Georgia |
324000000
|
| Other (IL IN IA MS NE NV NJ NM PA SD WY) |
188750000
|
*Acreage
and production numbers include both spring/summer fresh onions
and fall/winter storage onions.
Source:
National Onion Association, preliminary forecast, October 2002
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