French farmers have called on the European Union to clamp down on the Dutch for flooding the market with what they call are fake shallots, the Telegraph said on Thursday.

The paper says French growers claim the Dutch are selling onions as shallots and that this is hurting the French industry.

‘The Dutch are selling produce which they are calling shallots but under European Union regulations…  they are common or garden onions,’ spokesman Hubert le Nan told the paper. ‘This has been going on for 20 years and we’ve had enough.’

The French say the true shallot cannot be grown from seed. The Dutch, however, have mechanised the process and grow the vegetable from seed, making them much cheaper to produce.

Officials say it will take at least two years for Brussels to rule on the dispute.