Deep-red, pungent onions grown in Tanzania's renowned onion belts — cured for keeping quality, graded by size and packed for wholesale buyers, food service and international importers.
Red onions are a kitchen and processing staple valued for their deep colour, pungency and strong keeping quality once cured, and Tanzania is one of East Africa’s leading onion producers. ShambaFresh supplies fresh Tanzanian red onions to commercial buyers, sourced through our own farming and a trusted outgrower network, cured to seal the bulbs, graded by size and packed to the format your market requires.
We supply red onions as whole, cured bulbs for the wholesale, food-service and export trade. Bulbs are harvested at maturity, cured until the necks close and the papery outer skins set, then graded by diameter and packed to the net weight or carton format you specify. For milder brown and yellow onions, see our separate onion page. We grade to your standard rather than a fixed pack-out.
Onions size and colour best with warm days, a reliable water supply and a dry spell at maturity for curing, and Tanzania’s onion belts — the Mang’ola and Karatu area near Lake Eyasi, the Kilosa and Dumila zones of Morogoro, and Singida — are known for exactly this. Aggregating through our outgrower network in these areas gives a consistent, traceable supply base rather than open-market lots.
Our red onions are grown from selected seed with organic-minded practices — crop rotation, careful irrigation scheduling and integrated pest management where possible — supported by agronomy guidance for our outgrowers. Firm, well-coloured bulbs with tight skins are what survive curing, storage and transit, so field and harvest management are geared to that.
Every consignment is checked against the buyer’s specification before dispatch — bulb size, firmness, skin colour and cover, and freedom from sprouting, rot or mechanical damage. Soft, doubled or thick-necked bulbs are set aside so what a buyer receives matches the order.
Red onions are harvested when the tops soften and fall over and the necks begin to dry, which signals the bulbs have matured and are ready to cure. Lifting at this window — not too early, when skins are thin, nor too late, when bulbs may split or sprout — is what sets up good storage life, and it is done carefully to avoid bruising.
After curing, bulbs are sorted to remove anything off-grade, then graded by diameter into the size bands your market works to. Consistent sizing lets a buyer plan retail nets or processing yield, so we grade to the size classes you specify.
Red onions are packed into net (mesh) bags — commonly 10 kg, 20 kg or 25 kg — or into cartons for retail formats, then palletised for transport. Bag weight, size grade and labelling are packed to your specification.
Cured onions keep best cool, dry and well ventilated, with low humidity to prevent rooting and rot and steady conditions to hold back sprouting. We hold stock in these conditions between grading and dispatch so bulbs stay firm and tight until they reach the buyer.
Because well-cured onions are stable and not highly perishable, they move efficiently by sea in ventilated or standard containers for most export orders, with air freight reserved for smaller time-sensitive shipments. Loads are kept dry and ventilated throughout to protect condition.
Onions are grown across staggered planting windows in Tanzania, with major harvests around the dry months and irrigated crops extending supply, so fresh and cured red onions are available for much of the year; peak windows vary by region. We will share current availability against your enquiry.
Supply is aggregated across our farming and outgrower network, which lets us commit to repeatable volumes rather than one-off lots, and cured onions’ storage life helps us schedule against your calendar. Tell us your target volume and delivery schedule and we will confirm what we can meet.
We prepare red onions for international buyers end to end — sourcing, curing, grading, packing and arranging the export documentation the destination requires. Bulbs are presented to your size grade, net or carton format and labelling so they arrive ready for your distribution or processing.
For wholesale buyers, distributors and food service we supply red onions in bulk net bags or cartons to an agreed size grade, on a schedule that fits your business. Pricing, MOQ and lead times are provided on enquiry.
Red onions travel well and suit regional East African buyers as well as longer sea routes to the Gulf and beyond. See what we supply to each market.
Send us your target volumes, grades and destination and we’ll come back with pricing, MOQ and lead times. This is a B2B enquiry — no online checkout.
Both. We source red onions through our farming and outgrower network in Tanzania’s onion belts, cure, grade and pack them, and prepare them for wholesale buyers at home and for international importers, arranging the export documentation the destination requires.
Red onions have deep purple-red skin and a sharper, more pungent bite. For milder brown and yellow varieties used widely in cooking and processing, see our separate onion page — we can supply either to specification.
Yes. Bulbs are field-cured until the necks close and the papery outer skins set, which protects against rot, holds back sprouting and gives the storage and shelf life buyers rely on. Under-cured or soft bulbs are set aside.
We grade by bulb diameter into the size classes your market works to, and pack to the net or carton format you specify. Share your specification and we will confirm what we can supply.
MOQ depends on the destination, format and route. Staggered planting and irrigated crops keep red onions available for much of the year; tell us your volume and schedule and we will confirm current availability and terms.
Onions are packed into net (mesh) bags — commonly 10 kg, 20 kg or 25 kg — or into cartons, palletised, and kept dry and ventilated. Being stable once cured, they move efficiently by sea container, with air freight for smaller time-sensitive orders.
Importers, wholesale buyers, hotels and distributors — reach our export desk for grades, volumes and pricing.
