Global onion shortage threatens new chapter in world food crisis

By Agnieszka de Sousa, Souhail Karam and Maria Kolesnikova Lalaine Basa would buy a kilo of onions to make spring rolls at her catering business north of Manila. She’s now changed her recipe to use half the amount because of soaring prices in the Philippines. In the Moroccan capital Rabat, Fatima no longer buys onions and tomatoes because they are too expensive. She gets artichokes to cook tagine instead. “The market is on fire,” said the mother of three. The experiences of the two women more than 7,500 miles (12,000 kilometres) apart show how the global crisis over food supplies is taking an alarming twist: threatening to consume ingredients critical to the world’s nutrition. The costs of wheat and grains have fallen in recent months, easing concern over access to some staples. But a combination of factors is now shaking up the vegetable market, the backbone of a healthy, sustainable diet. And at the sharp end of that is the humble onion. Also Read | Retail inflation for farm ...