Onion Market Data, Grades and Trade

Editorial evidence reviewedReviewed 2026-09-09Release 2026-09-19-batch-230

Market value

$18.9B

Producing countries tracked

9

Grading systems

1

Active supply risks

3

Trade corridors

3

Latest reviewed evidence

The figures below are USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service estimates for the 2025 United States onion crop, published in February 2026. Fresh-market utilized production is reported in hundredweight while processing production is reported in tons; those units and product channels must remain separate. These are dated national crop measures—not global production, a current physical offer or a live delivered price.

United States onion planted area

139300

acres · crop year 2025

United States onion harvested area

137000

acres · crop year 2025

United States onion production

82.1

million cwt · crop year 2025

United States onion utilized production

81.6

million cwt · crop year 2025

Fresh-market, processing, sets and processed onions are separate products

Fresh dry-bulb onions are marketed by type or variety, color, maturity, cure, grade and size. Onions for processing use a separate USDA grade framework, while onion sets are planting material governed by their own size and quality requirements. Green onions, shallots, dehydrated flakes or powder, frozen onions and canned onions add different species or form, processing, composition and packaging requirements. Atlas keeps product type and intended use attached before comparing production, grade, price or trade evidence.

Variety, maturity, size, grade and condition travel with the lot

The cited USDA fresh-onion standard covers onions other than Bermuda-Granex-Grano and Creole types and separates U.S. No. 1, U.S. Export No. 1, U.S. Commercial, Boilers, Picklers, U.S. No. 2 and sample-grade outcomes. Grade factors include varietal characteristics, maturity, firmness, shape, diameter, decay, wet sunscald, doubles, bottlenecks, scallions and damage from sprouts, freezing, disease, insects and other causes. A certificate must retain the exact standard, inspection point, size designation, tolerance basis, pack and condition; another country's or product channel's standard cannot be silently substituted.

Crop totals do not determine a delivered onion price

USDA NASS estimated 82.1 million hundredweight of United States onion production from 137,000 harvested acres in 2025 and 81.6 million hundredweight of utilized production. The same release separates 58.4 million hundredweight for fresh market from 1.16 million tons for processing. Those dated aggregates span varieties, colors, grades, sizes, regions, storage states and sale channels. A delivered price still requires the exact product type, variety, grade, size, cure and condition, pack, origin, destination, Incoterm, delivery window and current permitted evidence.

Questions procurement teams ask

Are fresh-market and processing onions interchangeable?

No. USDA maintains separate standards and reporting channels. Fresh-bulb and processing lots can differ in variety, maturity, size, grade, defect tolerances, handling and end use.

Do all onions use the same United States grade standard?

No. The cited main fresh-onion standard excludes Bermuda-Granex-Grano and Creole types, and separate standards exist for those types, processing onions and onion sets. The applicable standard must remain attached to the lot.

What does the 82.1 million hundredweight figure represent?

It is USDA NASS's estimate of total United States onion production for the 2025 crop year. It is a dated national crop measure, not global production and not a current physical price.

Which fields make physical onion offers comparable?

Product type and intended use, variety and color, grade and inspection basis, maturity and cure, diameter or size profile, firmness, sprouts, doubles, bottlenecks, decay and other defect tolerances, crop year, treatment, package and net weight, origin, quantity, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window and evidence date.