The decline of the Mako onion: what will be the fate of the traditional onion?

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 08. 20. 12:01

Red onion is an essential ingredient of Hungarian cuisine, without which a domestic dish is almost unimaginable. The Makó onion, which is known worldwide for its quality and taste, was once the pride of Hungarian agriculture. However, in recent years there have been worrying signs: the cultivation of Mako onion is gradually shrinking, and the production areas have also decreased significantly. Agrárszektor investigated the background of this.

Stable but declining production

In recent years, onion production in Hungary has been stable, in 2023 the sector closed with a crop volume of around 70,000 tons. However, the export is not significant, we only ship 1-2 thousand tons of onions abroad, mainly to Romania, Croatia and Slovakia. In contrast, domestic onion imports exceeded 20,000 tons three years ago, but have been showing a downward trend since then, currently around 15,000 tons.

The Mako onion is in decline

The onion from Makó, which was once a symbol of Hungary, is now only a shadow of itself. The traditional cultivation of red onions in Maká has almost completely disappeared and continues only on small garden plots and trouser belt plots. The growing area of red onion has decreased significantly in the country, and the Mako onion can only live on as a memory.

The challenges of the future

The main reason for the decline of the Mako onion is the expensive propagating material and the production costs, which the fresh market is not willing to pay. One or two players in the processing industry, such as Univer, still support the production of Mako onions, but the continuous decrease in areas indicates that the future of traditional cultivation is increasingly uncertain.